The Dark Shinigami
by ihat3usernames
Summary: 3 months after the winter war, the 5th division is notified that they have a new captain. Who is this man? Why is his Haori crimson red? And what is pizza?
1. Chapter 1

The 5th division was amassed in the courtyard in front their barracks. The mob of Shinigami merged into a giant crowd right in front of the barracks. Each one was chatting to one another. Rumors went from one ear to another.

In front of this crowd was a young woman, with her brown hair in a bun, known as the Lieutenant to the fifth division, Momo Hinamori. Hinamori was confused even more than the rest of the division. She was ordered to call every member to the barracks on this day, Even Officers on duty in the human world. This command was from Captain Commander Yamamoto himself, which meant something serious was happening.

Hinamori felt a pat on her back, and turned to see a lower rank member who asked "Hey Lieutenant Hinamori, why we were called here?"

"I don't know." Momo simply replied "Commander Yamamoto didn't give me an answer when he gave the order. I'm as confused as you are."

"That's weird. Well I hope it's nothing that important. Some of the guys are thinking that they assigned us a new captain."

Momo's eyes sank to the floor "I hope not."

It was only 3 months since the winter war, and since she was stabbed by her childhood friend Toshiro Hitsugaya. She knew that he was under the influence of Aizen's Shikai, but that made it worse. She was utterly betrayed by Aizen, the man that she looked up and put so much of her devotion in to. Even after his defection she couldn't completely let go to the image she had of him. She thought that he had some good reason to do such horrible things. But when she felt Toshiro's Zanpakto embedded in her chest, that little hope died.

She didn't really trust anyone after that. How could one after such an important bond could was shattered as hers was? Her friends tried to help her but it was no use.

And then there was Toshiro. She only saw him once after the winter war. When he tried talking to her she instantly tensed up like a timid animal. She didn't mean to; it was on instinct, but the damage was done. The look in Toshiro's eyes expressed pain even greater than the wounds he endured during the fight. He avoided her, afterwards. Rangiku said that he was training to master his Bankai, to protect her.

A large creaking sound pulled Momo out of her thoughts and killed all the chatter, as the mob turned behind them and saw the Doors to the outside open. In the middle of the open doors was a figure, which approached the crowd. When the stranger was closer, the crowd took a good look at him.

He was a tall man, as tall as Captain Byakuya. His white hair was brushed down, bangs swept to either side. His bright blue eyes, felt piercing. His chin sported a gruff 5 o' clock shadow.

His outfit was that of a Shinigami, but had strange alterations. He wore the captains Haori, but instead of it being the regular white, it was died a dark crimson. He had the sleeves rolled up right above the elbows. There were several leather straps that covered his Shihakushō and instead of the traditional sandals, he wore black western boots.

His weapon was different as well. Instead of a typical katana, strapped to his back was a large western two handed sword. It was almost as big as him with the blade being as wide as 2nd division lieutenant Ōmaeda's head. The hilt adorned to large metal skulls on each side, one with a jaw, the other with horns, and had a bony rib like structure underneath.

The stranger walked past the crowd to the front of the barracks. The crowd in turn stared at the back of his Haori, hoping to see the insignia of whatever division he was with. What they saw shocked all to their core. The Lilly of the valley was on the middle of his Haori. That was their insignia.

The stranger stood on the steps of the barracks, and then slowly turned to the crowd. He slowly turned his head left to right, and vice versa as he stared at the crowd. The crowd tensed as he looked at them. It was if he stared at each one individually, examining them, judging them. Then the stranger's gaze turned to Momo. He stood at her the longest, sizing her up. Momo shifted uncomfortably, never turning from his gaze despite her desire to.

Then the strangers face softened and formed a smirk as he spoke to Momo "Momo Hinamori?"

Momo was thrown off a bit and before she knew it she responded "Yes?"

"Is this all of the 5th division?" When Momo nodded he turned to the crowd and shouted "I'm going to make this short so listen up! I'm Dante, and I'm your new captain!"

The once silent crowd of the 5th division broke into chaotic noise. Some whispered amongst themselves. Others shouted shouted in disbelief. A select few voiced their disapproval rather vocally.

Momo however just stared at her new captain in shock. This was one of the last things she wanted to happen. With what happened to her because of her previous captain, she didn't want to work with another. Not when her trust in others was shattered.

The new captain identified as Dante just snorted as his voiced drowned out the crowd "Now I know how you feel about this. You've all been through a lot of hurt. With what happened with Aizen, most of you don't want a new captain, even one as good looking as me." Dante stopped and snickered at his division's unanimous deadpanned expressions "Some of you can't even trust anyone anymore, especially some new guy you're going to be taking orders from." Momo looked down to ground when she heard that.

Dante's face then shifted to a serious expression "So let me say this. I'm not going to make promises I can't keep. I'm not going to say it will get better or how I would never do the things that Aizen did. I'm not going to tell you how you'll never be hurt again or that you can just simply trust me, because none of you would buy into that. All that I am going to say is this; I will be here for you."

Dante stopped and noted the confused stares before continuing "No matter how much you hate me, distrust me, or want to kill me, I am your captain, which makes your problems, my problems. I will be there for you when you need me. When you're life is on the line, I'll be right beside you, trying my hardest to bust your ass out. I only ask that if you ever think different of me that you'll think of being there for me."

Dante then clapped his hands "And with that, the introductions are over." He then turned to Momo "Momo, follow me."

Dante walked towards the gates, not minding the dispersing crowd or His lieutenant giving chase. There was a silence between the two as they walked through the streets of the Seireitei, not minding the looks that the other Shinigami gave Dante.

"Momo" Dante's voice caused her to stop and look at her new captain who was staring right at "The first task that we are doing is really important. I need your help with it. Do you understand?"

Momo looked at her captain shocked. She only met him a few minutes ago. Now he was giving her some important responsibility. This seemed almost unreal if it were not for how serious her captain looked.

Momo then took herself out of her daze and nodded "Yes, I understand."

Dante smiled "Good. Now, where can I find some pizza?"


	2. Chapter 2

Dante was napping in his office, leaning back in his chair with his legs planted on his desk. The chair and desk were something that he had to commission. They were made to be exact duplicates of the desk and chair that he had when he was alive. And just like the originals, they were sturdy enough that they could be thrown around full force without even getting a scratch on them.

He was happy that the soul society even knew what a desk and a chair was. His new home was pretty much another version of the Edo period. And while they did have some modern technology, there were many modern things that were missing from this world. It depressed Dante.

Dante sighed as he put his arms behind his head. It was only two weeks since he became a captain. He was against taking such a position, but after being requested by such a terrifying presence, he reluctantly accepted. He regretted it as the work was pushing the limits of his sanity. He knew that being a captain would be draining but, he never expected it to be this much. Then again, he didn't expect to lead the squad that was hurt the most in the last year.

 _"The fifth division…"_ Dante gave a short chuckle _"A gentle place where everybody is laid back and gets along. I feel jibbed."_

The division, itself didn't care for Dante. While, they never said anything to his face, he knew what they were whispering behind his back. The key words were "Incompetent", "Lazy", "wasteful", "Womanizer", "Bum", and "Fool". He didn't do a bad job running the place, if he wasn't counting a certain spending problem, but at the same time wasn't doing anything great either. The division wanted pick up after Aizen. They wanted to show that they were still of value to the soul society.

Dante knew that the biggest obstacle he had to overcome was the building of trust between him and his squad mates. He knew that it was going to take longer than 2 weeks for his squad to even think of trusting him, but they were sure making it hard for him.

This especially applied to his lieutenant. Momo was the hardest on him. He was always told how she was an upbeat friendly girl, but he never saw any of that from her. She was always on his case, complaining about how he wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities, or how he wasn't doing enough. She was constantly nagging him on what to do. Dante was accustomed to this type of nagging when he was alive so he could easily tune it out, but that served to only get Momo angry, and when she got angry, she got violent.

Dante took another long sigh as he thought _"She's going to take the most work."_

*THWACK*

The sound of the thwack registered faster than the sudden pain in Dante's gut, or his feeling of imbalance. Immediately opening his eyes, Dante found that his legs were no longer on the desk and he was leaning too far back. Gravity took over and Dante's chair collided with the ground.

When the chair made contact with the floor, Dante immediately rolled onto his back as he prompted himself up with his hands. He then pushed off the floor as he leapt into the air, doing a flip before landing, in the most stylish way possible.

Dante looked to his attacker. In front of him, right next to his desk, was the same lieutenant that he was just thinking of, with a broom in her hand. She was more in shock than anger, no doubt because of Dante's little show he just pulled.

Dante gently said "Momo…" Before shouting in annoyance "What the hell was that for?!"

Momo's shock quickly faded as she scowled at her captain "That's for sleeping on the job again Dante-taichou! Can I leave you alone for five minutes without you lazing about?!"

Dante raised his hand with his index finger sticking up "One, Its just Dante, not Dante-taichou, not captain Dante, just Dante. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Dante then stuck out his middle finger to accompany the other "Two, nothing important is going on so there's nothing wrong with me slacking."

"There is something wrong with it! You never do any work! At the very least you can clean your office!"

Momo then pointed to the pigsty that was Dante's office. Cardboard boxes littered the floor, accompanied by numerous cups and sake bottles. To say that there was no room in his office didn't do it justice. It was almost impossible to walk in the the place without hearing the sound of glass crunch beneath your feet.

This was how Dante lived. He didn't clean in life and he most certainly wouldn't start to clean when he was dead. He didn't care about what state his office was in, but certain subordinates could not understand that.

Dante sighed as he walked to his desk "Momo, the shape that I keep my place in has nothing to do with you or anybody else for the record."

"It does! You give off a bad impression with how messy this place is! I heard from my friend Renji, that your pig-sty was the first thing that Kuchiki-taichou of division six brought up when he was asked about his visit here. He kept calling you a slob."

"Well, let the blossom head think what he wants" Dante then plopped up his chair, before sitting back in it "If he's more worried about the way I live instead of the work I do, then I'm scared for the future of the soul society."

Momo raised an eyebrow "Work you do? Then explain that!"

Dante paled when he saw that Momo was pointing at a pile of paperwork in the corner of the room. There was so much paper work that one would need a wheelbarrow to move it. Paperwork was one of the biggest pains to deal with as a captain, so Dante kept putting it off. Naturally, the paperwork continued to pile up to the point that Dante was able to move it each stack to make a replica of New York City. That was something that Momo didn't approve of as well.

"Listen Momo," Dante tried to sound reassuring "That paperwork isn't due for a while, so it's ok if it piles up a little bit."

"It's not ok! I never have even seen Rangiku let the paperwork pile up this bad! And as for you saying that it isn't due for a while…" Momo rushed to Pile of paper work and took a good chunk off one of the taller stacks before running back and slamming it on the desk "This report for the Division's expenses was due days ago."

All the color left Dante's face as he looked at the report on his desk "Expenses huh? If it's not too much trouble, I'd rather have you take care of the money problems."

Momo's anger grew "Me?! You're pushing your work on me?!"

Dante sighed "Look, if I'm going to be honest, I'm terrible when it comes to money. Back when I was alive, I was in a lot of debt."

Momo then clutched her head, which caused her captain to chuckle "Well you are going to have to do this report as well as clean. I have an important meeting today, so I can't help you."

This grabbed Dante's attention "Important meeting? I thought the lieutenants meetings weren't till the end of the month."

"Not that type of meeting. I am meting up with the Shinigami Women's Association."

This caused Dante to raise an eyebrow "The Shinigami Women's Association?"

"Yes. It's an organization whose purpose is to improve the lives of all Shinigami"

"Heh, it's more likely that you just hang out, and eat junk food while passing it off as work."

Dante saw the glare that his lieutenant gave him, which caused him to chuckle. He was sure that he hit the nail on the head. He decided not to push it further. He knew better than to mess with a woman when it came to lounging.

Momo decided to continue the conversation "Well, I have to meet up with them shortly so you are going to have to work on the report. I also want you to clean up your room. You need to keep up appearances."

"Why worry about it? The cleaning fairy will take care of it?"

Momo raised an eyebrow "Cleaning fairy?"

"Yeah, you see something amazing happens. When I leave a mess around long enough, it will vanish while I'm asleep."

Momo was confused for a minute, and then when the lightbulb in her mind turned on she scowled "That's because I clean it up, right?"

Dante chuckled "That's another way to put it."

Dante felt a sharp sting in his head as his field of vision was suddenly blocked by the bristles of the broom that Momo held. He then felt the broom lift from his head, and saw Momo raise it high above her head.

"Momo, what the-" He was interrupted as Momo brought the broom down, crashing it on his head. Dante jolted from his chair and ran around the room as Momo kept swinging at him with the broom. She swung the broom like a sword, constantly aiming at her captain's head, ignoring his shouts to stop.

"ALRIGHT!" Dante yelled, stopping Momo in her tracks "I'll clean up the place and do the paperwork! Just go to your meeting! Sheesh, you're almost as bad as Patty ever was."

Momo didn't respond or even wonder who this 'Patty' was. She just gave a "humph", before dropping the broom and leaving for her meeting.

As she walked to her meeting Momo clutched her head. Her captain annoyed her enough to give her a throbbing headache. She just didn't understand it. She was usually so calm and upbeat. It was rare for her to get angry, or shout. Yet she found herself shouting at her captain as if it was such a common thing now.

She didn't understand how such a man could be appointed captain in the first place. The word lazy was too nice of a word to describe her captain. He was the embodiment of sloth. In the two weeks that he was her captain, she barely ever saw him do any of the captain's responsibilities.

If he wasn't sleeping, he was doing something other than his work. He would often skip out on his duties to drink and gamble. Sometimes he would leave the Seireitei altogether and walk around the Rukongai, hitting on any pretty girl that he could find.

That was not the behavior on how a captain should act, and it only added more to Momo's issues. Before his betrayal, Aizen was everything that she thought a captain should be. He was kind and attentive, and he took his responsibilities very seriously. He was the model Shinigami that everyone looked up to. So when he betrayed the soul society she could not trust the idea of a model captain.

So the question was, how could she possible trust the lazy skirt chaser that is her captain, if he couldn't trust the idea of a model Shinigami?

She needed to get her mind off of this whole ordeal. Thinking about it only caused her headache to grow. She started to run to the S.W.A. headquarters, hoping that the meeting would take her mind off of thinking about her captain.

 _"Hopefully, we'll talk about something important."_

It was then she walked into the door of headquarters, as she heard President Yachiru shout at the top of her lungs.

"Today's order of business is to learn everything there is about 5th division captain Dante-kun!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Today's order of business is to learn everything there is about 5th division captain Dante-kun!"

Momo felt all the blood rush out of her face after hearing that. In The Shinigami Women's Association headquarters Yachiru was shouting at the rest of the members from her desk, save Unohana and Nemu who were both currently absent. Nanao was right next to her at her desk. In between them was a large billboard, covered with numerous pictures. The pictures on the billboard almost caused Momo's brain to shut down.

Every single picture was of her captain. Each one was taken shoddily and from a faraway distance, like you would see in a spy movie. However they showed her captain doing everything that drove her crazy. There were pictures of him drinking. Some showed him at Shunsui's house as the played cards. There were too many pictures of him napping in public for Momo to stomach.

It was then when the rest of S.W.A noticed her.

"Oh, Momo!" Rangiku Matsumoto yelled out "Just the perfect person for today's business."

Momo sighed as she sat down. Ignoring the rest of the S.W.A

Nanao then spoke. "Let's get down to business." Rangiku and Yachiru stopped their laughter, as Momo was broken from her daze. Nanao then continued "As the president said, we are here to learn anything we can about Dante, the new captain for the 5th division."

Momo was the first to ask "Excuse me, why do you want to know so much about Dante-taichou?"

Rangiku then gave a laugh "You don't know? Your handsome mysterious captain is the whole talk of the Seireitei."

Momo's eyes widened "what?"

Isane Kotetsu spoke up "He is constantly talked about in the infirmary, since he so leisurely acts around Unohana-taichou."

Nanao added "Kyōraku-taichou is constantly talking about Dante-taichou, mostly about how he found someone worse at cards than him."

Yachiru started to jump up and down "And Ken-chan keeps trying to fight him!" She didn't know almost everyone else had a single drop of sweat run down their foreheads "but that chicken always run's away." Then Yachiru ran off, leaving her duties behind to find sweets, ignoring the shouts of everyone else.

Soifon scoffed at the group "Well I for one would rather not talk about that bastard."

This piqued Momo's curiosity "Huh? Why not Soifon-taichou?"

"He is a disgusting skirt chaser, who won't stop hitting on me."

Momo dug the palm of her hand into her forehead after hearing that. She knew that Dante would flirt with any pretty face, but she didn't think that he would flirt with a captain of all people, least of all, the captain of the stealth force.

"So Momo…" Momo turned to Rangiku who had a big smile on her face "What is Dante-taichou like?"

Momo sighed "I don't want to talk about him."

Her headache was now getting worse. It was pretty clear now that she wasn't going to get her mind off of her lazy captain. She went to this meeting as a means to escape thinking about him, not talk about him to almost everybody she knew. Why did the one thing that was her escape for the day have to turn into this?

Rangiku then laughed "You too? Just come on, why don't you want to talk about Dante-taichou?"

"Well, he's… frustrating."

Nanao arched an eyebrow "Frustrating? How?"

"He is really lazy. He never does any of the work given to him, especially the paperwork."

"So he's a slacker huh?" Matsumoto chimed in "I know what that's like "Back when Isshin was captain, it was impossible to get him to do any work. He was the worst slacker imaginable."

Nanao then turned Rangiku "You're one to talk, considering that you were pushing your workload onto him so you could laze about."

Rangiku then expressed a hurt look "Why, Nanao, I don't know what you are talking about. I take my duties very seriously."

"Then why is it that Hitsugaya-taichou is the only one that does any paperwork in your division?"

Rangiku then started to put on a fake cry, causing everybody else to look completely deadpanned at her bad acting.

Momo then took a deep breath before talking "That's not even the worst of it. After he introduced himself to the squad, he told me that he needed help with something. With the he he said it, it sounded like was really important."

Isane chimed in "Sounds serious. What did you two do?"

Momo took a huge gulp "We spent the whole day… looking for pizza."

"Pizza?"

"Flat bread cooked with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients on top."

Momo just sat in silence as the others stared at her. Each one looked completely pale with an expression of total disbelief on their faces. Momo then sighed heavily. This wasn't the first time she told this story. It was always the same reaction when she got to this part.

"You're kidding." Nanao uttered slowly in total denial "You spent the whole day… looking for food?"

"Yeah, and when we couldn't find any, He sent the cooks off to the human world to learn how to cook pizza, as well as something called a strawberry sundae. They're the only things that he eats"

"It's a good thing he did that." The group turned to see their president back with two giant strawberry sundaes in each of her hands "These sundaes are sooo good."

Yachiru then put both sundaes down and proceeded to eat them. The rest of the S.W.A looked in disgust as Yachiru gobbled them down in only a matter of seconds. They then watched Yachiru as she laid down, rubbing her stomach and purring.

Kiyone snorted "It's a wonder how such a guy like Dante even became a captain."

Nanao nodded "I agree, especially when he has no experience of being a Shinigami."

Momo's eyes widened a little "Has no experience?"

"Not only no experience, has he had no record prior to making captain. I went to the library to see his records, and he didn't have any. I even went to the Shin'ō Academy and they have no records of him attending."

"Well of course they wouldn't." Soifon chimed in "He has only in the soul society for over a month now."

Momo's eyes grew wide "He's been here for only a month? Shouldn't he be attending the Shin'ō Academy then instead of being a captain?"

"Attending the academy wouldn't do anything for him since he has no Shinigami powers."

"What do you mean he has no Shinigami powers?"

"I mean it exactly how I say it. The first thing that was brought up when Dante was before the Gotei 13 was that he didn't have Shinigami powers whatsoever."

Isane then tried to speak "But that big sword of his…"

"…Is not a Zanpakto. It was something he had when he was alive, same with those guns that he carries."

Momo knew about the guns that Soifon was talking about. The straps that covered Dante's Shihakushō connected to a large leather holster that hung on the lower part of his back. In that holster were two large handguns, one white, and the other black. Both were described with the words "Ebony and Ivory."

The guns were mementos of his from the time that he was alive. He always told Momo that he had to pull a favor with a _friend_ to get them as well as two other mementos, being a silver amulet that he always wore, and a picture of a beautiful blonde lady.

Isane asked "So you're saying that he isn't really a Shinigami?"

Soifon then gave a cold stare to the group "Don't tell me you didn't know. Dante doesn't even have any spiritual energy. You never noticed his lack of it?"

Momo just realized that. Whenever she was near Dante she felt something off about him. She could never put her finger on it but now it was so obviously clear; he never gave off any reiatsu.

Matsumoto asked "How is he even a captain if he doesn't have any Shinigami powers?"

"Apparently during her last mountain expedition, Unohana encountered Dante and discovered that he had strange power. She brought Dante before Yamamoto who decided to test him."

Isane trembled at the question she was about to ask "Wait, Yamamoto-taichou tested him?"

"Yes and from what I heard, Yamamoto was not holding back. I don't know the outcome, but Yamamoto was impressed enough to make Dante captain."

The entire group felt a collective chill run down their spines. Yamamoto was debatably the strongest Captain of the Gotei 13. A person would have to be incredibly strong in order for Yamamoto to test them himself. But for him to not hold back and be impressed… well that person's strength must be unimaginable.

Momo barely blurted out "Did you… see his power?"

"Only a little at his inauguration. The aura he gave off was… dark."

Nanao sighed "So almost everything about him is a mystery."

"Yes, the only people who know everything about him is Yamamoto and Unohana. Yamamoto wouldn't say anything, and when I confronted Unohana about, well…" Soifon's face turned to a dark grimace "She **_persuaded_** me to drop the matter. I think that it's best not to talk about this in public, or around Unohana-taichou."

The others face's turned dark. They knew how scary Unohana could be. If she wanted to, she could be even scarier than Kenpachi Zaraki.

Nanao then clutched her forehead "I think we learned all that we are able to about Dante-taichou. Votes to drop the subject?"

It was a unanimous decision. Everyone in the room raised their hands unanimously. There was no way that they were going to find out more about Dante. If his secret was being guarded by Unohana, then it was something that forever would remain a mystery. None of them would even think about questioning her orders. Doing that was like entering the gates of hell.

Nanao then continued "Now to the next order of business."

The rest of the meeting went rather smoothly. Most of it was talking about fundraising activities since President Yachiru spent all of the money on sweets again. However it did not help Momo taker her mind off of her captain.

Now walking back to the barracks, the only thing that Momo could think about was the stuff she learned about Dante. She always thought of him as some care free slacker. She didn't know how much of a mystery he truly was.

He didn't have Shinigami powers. However the power he did have was able to impress the Captain commander Yamamoto enough to make him a captain. Just what type of power did he wield? Thinking about it made Momo doubt what she knew about her captain. Was the care free slacker really him or was there more to the new captain?

Momo sighed as she finally approached the barracks. The first thing she did was walk to her captain's office, to check up on him. When she entered, she was surprised. There was no garbage on the floor, and while it wasn't gone, the paperwork was significantly smaller. However her captain was not in the room.

Then in an instant, Momo heard frantic steps from outside the room. Turning to the door, she saw it slam open and her captain enter the room. He had a look of panic slapped onto his face.

Dante then spoke in a rushed manner "Oh Momo, good." He started to take deep breaths and attempted to calm himself "Something really bad happened."

Momo stood wide eyed "What was it Dante-taichou?"

"Somebody, stole my strawberry sundaes."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm telling you I'm not cut out for this."

Dante picked up a sake bottle and poured the alcohol into his cup, almost to the point of over flowing. Raising the cup to his lips, he downed the sweet liquor in no time at all, as if he was chugging water.

He was currently in a private room in a rather nice restaurant. A large table was in front of him filled with a rather big feast. However he was in the mood for drinking more than eating.

"You're doing fine Dante. It's only been a couple of weeks."

Across from Dante was captain of the 13th division, Jūshirō Ukitake. Ukitake was also enjoying the pleasure of sake. However unlike Dante he was drinking in a far more mannerly fashion. He held the cup in both hands, one clutching the side, and one holding the bottom. He would then slowly bring the cup up to his lips and take small sips of sake before lowering it back down.

In the incredibly short time that they knew each other, Dante and Ukitake had become really close friends. While Dante only acted relaxed around a few of the captains such as Unohana or Shunsui, he was never more than an acquaintance to them. However one night he was approached by Ukitake for a drink, and the two instantly formed a bond.

Finished chugging, Dante slammed his cup on the table "Well these last few weeks have been telling me how way over my head this captain business is."

"You're rushing things. You cannot build their trust overnight."

"I know that. But I don't know what I can do for them."

"You're doing enough by being there for them. Just give them time and they'll come around."

Dante sighed "I hope so." He then grabbed the sake bottle and started to refill his cup.

"You're helping them more than you realize, especially your lieutenant."

Dante scoffed "She who speaks loudly and carries a big broom? Yeah, I'm doing a lot to help Momo."

"I'm serious. Her friends have asking me to to get through to her, but I can't. Ever since Hitsugaya started to avoid her, she's been less open about how she felt. She pretends to act like she's ok while shutting in her true feelings. You're the only one who she's been truly open with."

"So, my pissing her off is some kind of 12 step program? Hey…" Dante's eyes then widened as he had an epiphany "That gives me the perfect excuse not to do any paperwork!"

Ukitake then sighed "That's not what I meant Dante." before taking another sip of sake. "I have to ask though, are these trust issues the only reason why you were against becoming a captain?"

"I'm not a leader. I've had partners sure, but we always split up and did our own thing. Having people under my wing is something I've never had before."

"It will come with experience."

"Also," Dante tugged at his Haori "I'm not a fan of the threads."

"Really? What don't you like about the outfit?"

"It's a couple hundred years out of date, and a couple thousand miles away from how I usually dressed." Dante sighed "I'm just glad that Unohana convinced old man Yamamoto to allow me to wear some boots and dye the coat red."

"Why did you agree to become a captain if you were so against it?"

Dante brought his cup to his face as he grimaced "Well, Unohana **_persuaded_** me to join." He then downed the sake as if he was taking a shot.

A shiver went down Ukitake's spine "Oh… I see." before he took a rather large sip of sake himself.

Both sat in silence for what seemed like ages. An awkward tension filled the air as they imagined that sickly sweet voice and dark smile that Unohana could bring out. Of all the things that Dante has been through, nothing has been as terrifying as seeing Unohana with that smile.

It was during this silence that there was a sharp knock on the door.

Ukitake chimed "Come in."

The door slid open as Dante heard footsteps behind him. Turning to the door his eyes met a short female Shinigami. She had black hair of shoulder length that was parted from her face, leaving only a little strand that was between her purple eyes.

The girl expressed shock when she saw Dante before she turned to Ukitake and gave an apology "Sorry Ukitake-taichou. I didn't know that you were with company."

Ukitake gave a short laugh "Its fine Rukia. You weren't interrupting anything."

Dante turned back to Ukitake "Do you have a meeting or something? Because if so, I can leave."

"It's alright Dante. Oh, I forgot to introduce the two of you." Ukitake pointed to the girl "Dante, this is Rukia Kuchiki, one of my subordinates." Then he pointed to Dante "Rukia, this is Dante, the new captain of division 5."

Dante turned back and looked at the newly Identified Rukia. She in turn bowed graciously at the sight of the new captain.

"Nice to meet you, Dante-taichou." She meekly greeted.

Rukia's eyes widened when she heard a groan from Dante. Looking up she saw that he looked rather annoyed.

"Just call me Dante" Dante groaned "Titles make my skin crawl."

Rukia looked a little frantic as she bowed again "I'm sorry Dante."

"Hey, relax. You're not in trouble or anything." Dante then grabbed his sake bottle and cup before pushing himself up from the futon that he was sitting on. This earned a weird look from Rukia who was just starting to raise her head. While looking at Rukia, Dante motioned to the futon "Take a seat."

"Wha- oh no. I couldn't possibly take your seat."

Dante started to laugh which earned him another weird look from Rukia "If I'm offering it to you its fine." Dante walked to the side of the table before planting himself onto the floor. "See this is what I'm talking about Jūshirō. You get the respectful squad mates, whereas I get the ones that hit me with brooms all day."

Rukia stared at Dante before awkwardly saying "Thank you." and sitting down on the futon.

"So, Kuchiki huh? You're related to the cherry blossom?"

"Huh?"

Both heard a sigh from Ukitake "Yes Dante, she's _Byakuya's_ sister." Ukitake gave an extra emphasis when he said Byakuya's name. "It's no wonder why he gets annoyed with you."

"Hey, it's just a nickname."

Ukitake sighed before looking at Rukia "Have you heard from your brother about how he went to visit Dante at his office?"

Rukia nodded "I did. Nee-san said quite a few things." She then turned away awkwardly "They were… unflattering."

Dante then laughed as he turned to Ukitake "Momo's friend Renji told her that one of the key words was 'slob'"

Ukitake then gave a chuckle "Well, you don't clean your office."

"This again?" Dante groaned "Why does everyone treat that like it's a big thing?"

"Besides that, you have a rather rare talent for angering Byakuya with your teasing. I ran into him after his visit. I have never seen him so visibly angry since he was a kid."

"Well what can you say? I'm a natural."

Dante loved to make fun of the other captains. While some shrugged it off as the playful banter it was, others took offense to it. The two who received the worse of Dante's teasing was Byakuya and Toshiro, and both were the ones who got the angriest. Dante couldn't help it however. They reminded him too much of a relative.

He then turned to Rukia "So, Rukia, what seat are you?"

Rukia was in a bit of a daze before she responded "Wha- oh sorry, I'm 4th seat."

Ukitake chimed in "She's a lot more powerful than what her rank lets on."

"Oh no, I'm pretty average."

Ukitake ignored her and looked towards Dante "Her shikai is incredibly strong, and I think she will achieve her Bankai soon."

Dante gave a whistle "So that means she'll make captain soon right?"

"Sadly no, since she's a Kuchiki, Byakuya uses his position as head of the household to make sure she won't get a position that puts her in danger."

"Oh I get it. Cherry blossom is over protective so he makes sure she will be safe, even at the cost of her blooming herself."

Ukitake gave a small laugh as he took another sip of sake "That's one way to put it."

"What about lieutenant then?"

"Well actually…" Ukitake turned to Rukia "That's what I wanted to talk about."

Rukia gave a look of confusion to her captain "Ukitake-taichou?"

"Rukia, after all that has happened I think it's time to have a new lieutenant. I want it to be you."

It took all of Dante's being not to laugh at the face Rukia was making. Her eyes were wider than a doe's, and her mouth dropped wide open like a turkey in a rainstorm. She just sat there frozen, with that expression on her face.

Rukia then gave a nervous chuckle "Hahaha, very funny Ukitake-taichou."

"I'm serious Rukia." Ukitake then watched Rukia shift uncomfortably "Are you declining?"

"I don't… know."

"Then what?"

"It's just…I don't feel good about taking Kaien's role."

Ukitake gave a look of worry "Does it still hurt?"

Rukia didn't answer that right away. She simply sat there in silence. Her eyes eyes slumped down to the ground as if she couldn't answer.

"I thought I made peace with with what happened to Kaien after apologizing to Kūkaku. But after seeing that Arrancar Aaroniero take his form, the pain came back. Honestly I don't know if it will ever stop hurting."

"It won't." Both Ukitake's and Rukia's eyes widened as they turned to Dante "You'll think the wounds have healed up, but next thing you now they've reopened. Pain like that never really goes away." Dante then began to stretch "But, that's a good thing."

Rukia's face of shock was replaced by that of anger as she got up from her seat and yelled at Dante "It's a good thing?! It's good that I feel pain?! Just explain to me how there could it possibly be good!"

"Because it shows you still care."

Those words instantly stopped Rukia in her tracks. She just stood there looking at Dante.

Dante started to fill his cup again as he spoke "It shows that all those feelings and memories you have, are still there." He then raised his cup to his face. "It shows that bond that you were given, hasn't gone to waste."

Dante then downed the sake in his cup, before looking at Rukia. She had lumped back down into her seat, in total silence. Her head was slumped down to the floor. Her eyes never lifted off the ground in that time; they just stared at the floor, as if they weren't really looking there to begin with.

Dante took a deep sigh. He was told what happened to Ukitake's former lieutenant. He felt that he could relate to Rukia and her situation. He experienced the exact same type of thing himself. He knew that coming to grips with what happened in that scenario was one of the hardest things to do. In fact for Dante it was the hardest. The pain was a foe tougher than any he ever faced.

Dante gave another sigh before continuing "Sorry, I probably shouldn't be talking about this since I never knew Kaien. But you aren't simply taking his role. You're protecting something that he held dear."

An awkward silence hung in the room. Rukia just sat there neither looking at either one. Dante looked at her eyes, and saw conflict. He knew that she was trying to come to a decision.

For what seemed like forever, Rukia lifted her head and stared at her captain. Her eyes then changed. There was no hint of confliction in them; rather they seemed quite determined.

Rukia then formally said "I accept the position, Ukitake-taichou"

Ukitake then gave a warm smile "I'm glad to hear it lieutenant."

Rukia gave a small smile of her own before turning to Dante and bowing "I'm sorry for yelling at you Dante."

Dante then waved her off "No biggie. At least you didn't hit me with a broom. Although…" Dante then turned to Ukitake "I wonder how your kids are going to take this."

Ukitake then gave a confused look "Kids? I don't have any children Dante."

"I'm talking about your third seats."

"Sentaro and Kiyone? They aren't children."

"Are you kidding me?" Dante chuckled "They're like two brats that try to hog the affection of their mother. I know I have experience there."

"Well I can't really argu…" Ukitake stopped in his tracks as he gave Dante an accusing look "Are you trying to say I'm like their mother?"

"Well, you have that… Maternal instinct."

"Maternal instinct? Dante I'm a man. I couldn't possibly have those characteristics of a mother."

"Are you kidding me?" Dante hollered "You'd make the perfect housewife! I know Shunsui's sad that you don't have breasts."

"What are you-"

Ukitake was cut off by thunderous laughter. Both he and Dante turned around to saw Rukia in complete hysterics. She was rolling on the floor clutching both her sides. Her laughter was like that of a hyena. Tears were in her eyes from the constant laughter.

Ukitake smiled at the scene before he gave a short laugh "Dante, your jokes are terrible."

"Your lieutenant thinks otherwise."

"She's only humoring you."

"I doubt that."

"Well actually…" Dante turned to see Rukia wiping her eyes before she continued "I was humoring you."

"HEY!"

Dante then hear laughter behind him. Turning he saw Ukitake now laughing up a storm, before it turned fit of coughs.

Dante shook his head "Everybody picks one me, I swear." Suddenly there was a ringing from the inside of Dante's Haori. Reaching into it he pulled out one of the only modern things the soul society had, a cellphone. Dante looked at the screen before a grimace crept on his face and he muttered "Shit."

Ukitake got over his coughing fit and asked "Whats wrong?"

Dante grabbed the sake bottle and propped himself up "Well it's been fun Jūshirō but it's getting close to that time where Momo wonders where I ran off to and hunts me down with a broom."

Ukitake gave a short laugh "Oh, I see. We'll meet up again later?"

"Yeah." Dante walked to the door before he suddenly stopped and turned back to Ukitake "Hey Jūshirō"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for everything today."

"No problem Dante. We're friends."

Dante turned back to the door and slid it open. He then stopped and made a waving signal behind his back, before he finally walked out and closed the door.

Both Rukia and Ukitake then sat down in silence. However it wasn't an awkward silence like earlier. It was much more peaceful and serene. Ukitake then went for another sip of sake, before he realized that his cup was finally empty.

Ukitake then decided to speak "So Rukia, What did you think of Dante?"

Rukia shrugged "He seemed nice although odd."

"I can't argue with that."

"Can I ask something Ukitake-taichou?"

"Sure"

"What were you two talking about before I walked in?"

Ukitake chuckled before he grabbed the sake bottle and started to fill his cup "Oh nothing. Dante doesn't feel like he's suited to be a captain."

"He doesn't?"

"Nope and to be honest," Ukitake grabbed his cup and took a big swig "I can't really blame him for feeling like that. He has had a rough start with his division, and I know that some of the other captains are suspicious of him considering how he and his powers are one big mystery."

Rukia nodded. She knew of how the other captains were suspicious of Dante. Her older brother Byakuya was especially keeping an eye on him.

Ukitake continued "But, he is better off than he realizes."

Rukia seemed a little confused "What do you mean taichou?"

"It takes more than some strange power for Yamamoto to personally inaugurate you as a captain; it takes even more for him to respect you."

"Respect?"

"Both Yamamoto and Unohana, the two oldest captains of the soul society, hold Dante in high regards."

"You think so?" Rukia seemed a little doubtful "He's only been here for a month, and they respect him that much?"

Ukitake turned directly to Rukia "Rukia this between me and you only. Understand?"

Rukia looked at her captain. She was a little taken back but quickly nodded "I understand."

"With the exception of Unohana, Yamamoto looks down on the rest of the captains as children."

"Even you, taichou?"

Ukitake laughed "Especially me. Both Shunsui and I are considered his sons. But it's different with Dante. With the high amount of trust and respect that he has for Dante, I truly believe that Yamamoto looks at him as an equal."

Rukia's eyes almost bulged out of her head "Dante? An equal?!"

"Yes, and after seeing how he just consulted you, I know that Yamamoto's trust is well founded." Ukitake then took another swig before chuckling "Dante is perfectly suited for being a captain. Maybe after Yamamoto dies he'll become captain commander."

Rukia didn't say anything. She just stared at Ukitake before turning and staring at the door that Dante left through moments ago.

Finally Rukia spoke "Well whatever the case, he does come off as a big goofball."

Ukitake chuckled "He really is."

 **Authors note: Shit chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Momo took a deep breath as she put down her pen. She then shook her hand, vigorously trying to relieve the cramped muscles. She was writing for what seemed like forever, even though it was only a couple of hours.

She groaned as she looked at the empty desk to her right. She was in her captain's office and like usual he was nowhere when it dealt with paperwork. Momo had just finished a large heap of paperwork and she still had three more to go. This all was supposed to be her captain's work, but since it dealt with the expenses, he ran off pretty much pushing it onto her.

Momo grumbled as she continued to shake her cramped hand. It was now close to a month since Dante became captain, and in that month he did nothing to help mend his image. He was still skipping work regularly and when he did come to his office he would trash the place worse than the garbage mound in the former execution pit. She picked up enough greasy pizza boxes to last her a life time.

She still didn't understand why Dante was made captain. She still remembered the things she learned about him from that meeting with the S.W.A. He was a complete mystery, personally inaugurated by Captain Commander Yamamoto despite having no spiritual energy. When she learned that, she thought that there was more to him to moments the eye. But as the weeks passed she started to doubt that theory.

 _I will be there for you._

She still remembered those words from his short speech. She scoffed thinking about them. He wasn't living up to his promise. He wasn't here when she needed help with the paperwork. He wasn't there when she needed help with other duties.

She remembered that only a week ago there was a fight between some of the division members and certain thugs belonging to the 11th division. They were mocking the squad, calling them traitors. The argument turned into a brawl, in which many 5th division members were badly beaten. Momo had to break up the fight with the help of 11th division third seat Ikkaku. Dante easily scolded the bunch that got into the fight, but once again he was not there when she needed help.

How could accept this man as her captain? He did not perform his duties and He most certainly did not keep the promise he made. She didn't understand what Captain Commander Yamamoto saw in him.

Momo then took a deep sigh as she moved another stack of paperwork in front of her and picked up her pen. Thinking about this only served to give her a migraine.

However just as she put her pen on paper, she heard frantic footsteps as the door was slid open with such force, it almost fell off.

"TAICHOU!"

Turning she saw a one of the division members hunched over out of breath. He scanned the room while panting, until his eyes met Momo.

"Oh lieutenant" He said while trying to catch his breath "Where is Dante-taichou?"

Momo simply responded "I don't know. He hasn't been in the office all day."

Momo looked worried when she saw his reaction. The subordinate's face turned into one of panic of despair. He continued muttering to himself as his his head slumped down and eyes twitched.

"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit."

"Excuse me." Momo's politeness caused the subordinates eyes to rise back up to her level "What happened?"

Momo became slightly shocked as the man clammed up. He tried to speak only for nothing to come out.

Finally he was able to mutter out "We have a big emergency on our hands"

Momo became unsettled "What type of emergency?"

"In the southern part of the Rukongai, there was reported to be a rather large amount of hollow activity. Hitsugaya-taichou went to investigate and…"

The subordinate's face grimaced, which caused Momo's eyes to widen. Her stomach churned as all she heard was silence from him. She kept wondering what happened to Toshiro. Was he dead, or worse?

Momo then shouted "And?! What happened?!"

The subordinate gulped before finally speaking up "He didn't return. Matsumoto went with at least 10 strong of their division to investigate. Only she returned." He took a deep breath "Hitsugaya-taichou was attacked by several Menos. And there was a surviving espada present."

Momo's eyes widened, which almost made the subordinate flinch. They were filled with despair. Momo saw firsthand how strong the espada were by themselves. Not only that, but the espada was accompanied by other Menos. Those odds seemed hopeless even for Toshiro.

She muttered out darkly "What else did Rangiku say?"

"That Hitsugaya-taichou told them to run. But they were attacked when they fled, and where separated. The fate of those ten Shinigami or Hitsugaya taichou is unknown. The captains are being notified to try and help."

"Where?"

The subordinate gave a confused expression "Excuse me lieutenant?"

"Where did this happen?"

The pieces clicked into place as the subordinate began to panic "What a minute lieutenant, don't tell me you want to go there! You're body still isn't still fully healed from the winter war! We should stay and wait for-"

Momo glared at her subordinate with a fury in her eyes as she yelled "I ORDER YOU AS YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER TO TELL ME WHERE THIS TOOK PLACE!"

The subordinate flinched as he shouted on instinct "The 130th district, deep in the forest hidden in the mountains!"

Momo spent no time to reply. She flung herself from her seat and rushed passed the subordinate despite his shouts and pleas not to go.

Momo just ran. She ran, and ran. She used all of her energy to shunpo herself to the gate of the Seireitei, and exit into the Rukongai. She ignored the pain in her body, the weariness of her legs, her lack of breath, or the burning heat failing to exit her skin. She just ran pushing her body to the limit.

She began to wheeze. The wheezing became coughing. And as she ran she covered her mouth. Blood spurted from her lungs to her mouth and onto her hand. That subordinate was not joking when he said that she wasn't fully healed. Her organs were still regenerating from extensive treatment. This marathon punished them mercilessly, especially her heart and lungs. They were the two main organs that were damaged the most from her. Both screamed in sharp burning pain.

Momo however put it all in the back of her head. The pain, the weariness, was swept aside for the despair that kept her going. Two single words entered her mind. They kept hammering themselves into her mind like the crusher of a mill. They burned hotter than the rest of pain in her body. Two words repeated constantly.

 _Don't die, Don't die,_ _Don't die, Don't die,_ _Don't die, Don't die,_ _Don't die, Don't die,_ _Don't die,_

She continued to think it until she started to whisper it. Then her whispers turned into shouts.

"DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE! TOSHIRO YOU BETTER NOT DIE!"

She kept shouting, ignoring the blood from her mouth as she did. She only thought of the wellbeing of Toshiro. She ran for what seemed ages, far too long, until her destination was in sight. In the distance were the mountains of the 130th district. They were the highest mountains that Momo ever saw in her life. They reached to the heavens, as a wall of fog shrouded their tops.

Momo ran faster, putting more energy into her flash step. She gritted her teeth as the burning in her lungs and heart grew hotter. It was if she was roasting inside out from the flames of Ryūjin Jakka. There was no time to pay attention to the pain though. She needed to put that aside. She needed only to think of Toshiro, and how she would help him.

Moments later, Momo found herself in the hidden forest. She was leaning on a tree, panting heavily. She kept panting trying vainly to catch her breath. No longer could she ignore the pain in her chest. With her hand she wiped the blood from her lower lip before wiping it onto a tree.

While catching her breath, Momo looked around the forest. It was if a force of nature swept through. Numerous trees as tall as Sōkyoku Hill were strewn across the ground. Many of them had large chunks of their trunk ripped out as they were across the forest floor. Thousands of Splinters of wood were embedded into the bark of trees still standing.

And then there were certain trees that were destroyed in the most unusual way possible. The trees were completely frozen solid as they had that icy white sheen to them. They were broken in thousands of small white pieces, like a large pane of glass shattered on the floor.

Momo's attention turned away from the ruined forest as chaotic noise echoed through the destroyed trees. Turning to the distance of the forest Clangs and clashes were heard. Then suddenly, a bright crimson light illuminated the darkly shaded woods. This was followed by the echo of crashing ice.

Pushing herself off the tree Momo ran. With her breath caught, and being numb to the pain, she ran to the direction of the clashed. A new strength took over her as she ran faster and faster. That strength was hope. The hope that Toshiro was still alive and fighting soothed her pain and lifted her more than she could do herself.

Running to the fight Momo found herself in a large clearing of the forest, undoubtedly due to the fight. And it was then her eyes widened in hope and fear.

At the edge of the clearing, was Toshiro. He was leaning heavily and panting on one of the tree's exhausted from the battle. His zanpakto battered along the edge. His once pristine white Haori was dirty with dirt and grime and was decorated with numerous splotches of blood.

Numerous cuts were all over his body, from minor scrapes to being deep gashes. The most notable were was the one adorned on his chest. While it looked like it was slowing down, blood still freely flowed from the wound. Momo could swear that there was a gash on his back as well, judging from the sticky red blotch on the tree from where his back made contact.

In hysterics Momo ran to Hitsugaya screaming out "TOSHIRO!"

Toshiro instantly turned to Momo's voice and gave a look of shock and horror "Momo? No! Don't co-"

Before Toshiro could finish, Momo Saw crimson light surrounded her. Looking up to her left, her eyes widened when she realized what the red light was.

It was the Cero of a Menos Grande.

The cero slammed into Momo's position. The loose dirt around was kicked up with such violence that it almost reached the tips of the trees before slowly falling down back to the earth. A thick screen of dirt filled the air as thick as the heaviest fog, and obstructed the view of the aftermath.

Toshiro shouted "MOMO!" in absolute horror. His mind was racing with the worst scenario. The dust started to settle and slowly Toshiro's eyes changed from horror to relief.

In the middle of the screen of dirt was a single silhouette. As the screen faded the silhouette became clearer and clearer until the real figure was revealed. It was Momo, still alive with no real scratch on her. She was on one knee leaning on her zanpakto. What was once a simple katana was now the seven branched sword that its shikai form.

Toshiro's look of relief quickly turned into one of worry as he looked on to his childhood friend. With a hand on her mouth Momo was coughing up more of a storm. More blood could be seen oozing from either side of her hand like how water runs down a leaf.

Forcing herself to stop coughing, Momo looked to where the cero came from. Her eyes immediately widened in horror. In front of her was two Gillian typed of Menos Grande, almost as big as the trees surrounding them.

"How in the world did you survive that?"

Momo turned to the direction of the new booming voice. She panicked as she saw another Menos Grande. However this one was an Adjuchas type. It looked like a bull, large as a shed, and thicker than any oxen imaginable. Its mask was golden, while its horns had the bluing of the coldest steel.

The Menos scoffed "You look half dead, yet were able to deflect a cero? You're pretty damn lucky. Who are you anyway?"

"Another one of Aizen's discarded pawns."

Momo froze when she heard that voice. She heard that cold feminine voice before. Looking up to the sky, Momo's eyes showed pure dread as she looked at a face all too familiar. In the sky she stood. That blonde hair, that olive skin, those aqua eyes, only belonged to one person. Above Momo, was the numero tres espada, Tier Harribel.

The bull looked up towards Tier as he shouted "What do you mean Tier? This girl a pawn?"

Tier responded coldly "That is Momo Hinamori, former lieutenant to Aizen."

Tier looked coldly at Momo as she pushed herself on her legs. Tier then arched an eyebrow as Momo stretched her right hand out to her.

"Hadō #31, Shakkahō!"

A ball of pure crimson, shot out of Momo's palm at great speeds. It sped towards Tier who did not seem concerned in the slightest of the threat. Just before the ball made contact, a Cero made contact, completely displacing the energy.

Momo fell back on one knee, panting. She then glared at to her left as it was the bull adjuchas that was responsible for that cero.

The bull scoffed "For someone who was able to deflect a cero that was some mad weak kido. You can't muster enough energy in that state to be a threat. Yet you still think you can take us on when snowy here couldn't?"

Momo then pushed herself up again as she pulled her zanpakto out of the ground "You beat Toshiro? He wouldn't lose to you unless you did something low."

The bull snorted before launching a cero between its horns. Momo Swung her zanpakto as fire traveled into the tip, launching a ball of fire. The cero and the fireball collided head. A ring of smoke quickly expanded from the ring, until both attacks cancelled each other out.

The bull then chuckled "Well, as young as he is he sure is stupid. Those other Shinigami's sure were stupid enough to come here. We simultaneously launched a cero at them, and snowy here was stupid enough to take the brunt of the blast."

Momo didn't respond. She only launched another fireball from her zanpakto. The Bull adjuchas however did not fire another cero. Instead he bellowed before charging the fireball. The ball made contact with the steel bone that was his his mask. Instead of exploding, the ball bounced back. Momo widened as she saw the same ball of fire she just cast, head back straight toward her with increased velocity.

It was only a hair's breadth from Momo's chest when it exploded. The force sent Momo flying back until she crashed into one of the towering trees. She bounced off with ease before slumping to her knees. More blood was flowing freely from her mouth.

"Momo!" Momo could barely turn to see the horrified look of Toshiro "Get out of here! You're no match for them!"

"Hes right." Momo's eyes widened as right in front of her was the tres espada, staring right into her eyes as their foreheads almost touched. "You can't fight in that condition. Yet here you are on the battlefield." Her eyes didn't waver "It was Toshiro over there that stabbed you. Why risk your life for him?"

Momo, was wondering that herself. It wasn't like her to go straight into harm's way by herself. She was smarter than that. But when she heard Toshiro, it was as if she stopped thinking. Toshiro was more than a friend; he was a brother to Momo. They grew up together like siblings. And when Momo hurt him, it was as if she was hurt herself. She wanted to talk to him again. She wanted to hang out with her childhood friend once more. She wanted to apologize to him for all that she put him through. But most importantly, she wanted him to be safe.

Momo's eyes suddenly became determined as she stared right back. Neither one seemed to back down.

Then Momo spoke "It wasn't his fault." Her voice became louder "It wasn't Toshiro's fault! I want him to know that! I want us to be friends again!"

Momo just stared at Tier, not moving her head or minding the shocked star that she could feel from Toshiro. Tier simply stared back. Both pairs of eyes were locked on each other for what seemed like ages.

"Pathetic"

A blur of white flashed in front of Momo's face before she felt herself flying and crashing into the ground. Her zanpakto left her hand and flew in an opposite Direction. Slowly looking up she could see Tier leg extended in the air, evidence that she was kicked. She could barely hear Toshiro scream her name before she she started to cough up blood. No time to cover mouth, she just let it pool to the floor as pushed herself up muscles burning.

She was only able to on her knees when she saw that Tier Sonido'd right in front of her. Momo glared at her as she wheezing desperately trying to get some air. Tier just looked at Momo with disgust, as if she was looking down at her both physically and mentally, like a lord looking down on his subordinates.

"Absolutely pathetic." Tier's words came out cold and dark, before she unsheathed her zanpakto, "Both of you didn't need to die. It's that bastard Aizen I'm after. I'll kill you both forcing that old man Yamamoto's hand."

Momo could hear Toshiro's screams as he tried to crawl his way over there. However Momo knew that he was in an even worse state than she. He wouldn't be able to time. She watched as Tier raised her zanpakto high ready to strike down the girl. Momo eyes felt heavy; an wave of tiredness fell upon. Her mind screamed out to resist, but her body didn't listen. She closed her eyes ready for the end, just as Tier brought her sword down.

 _*CLANG*_

The loud noise filled the air followed by seconds of an absence of noise. Finally mustering enough willpower she was able to open her eyes and shockingly found herself still alive. Her eyes widened when she saw who was in front of her.

"Taichou?"

 **AN: Not one for long notes but a lot to address so here we go.**

 **If you're wondering why this took so long then I have three words, Lack of interest. I had most of this written down a day or two after finishing the last chapter and then stopped writing. I just liked the idea enough to write quite a bit of it down and then just stopped due to lack of interest. Not only that but I had numerous other Ideas for a Devil May Cry + Bleach crossover.**

 **This is how I am. I write on idea and then move onto others before even finishing the one Idea. I mean I had scrapped three different ideas for this crossover, not to mention there are numerous others on my computer. I even had a giant essay written for this explaining the fact that this story is dead and I was debating whether or not to delete this account. I ruled against the latter however thinking that that was just a douche move.**

 **Am I going to continue the story? Yep. But it will be pretty infrequent so don't get your hopes up. It depends If I'm in the mood and that in a blue moon.**

 **I also wanted to address some criticism, and no not in the "** ** _HOW DARE YOU DON'T LIKE MY STORIES! IF YOU DON'T LIKE DON'T READ"_** **way. I fucking hate those people!**

 **First off I didn't mean to make Momo come off as a bitch. It's just that Dante needs a good kick to the ass sometimes for him to do anything. I was kind of modelling her behavior a little bit around Patty.**

 **And to Mr. "No offense" well none taken, but I'm not sure what you mean when you said that Dante was more reserved like that. The first thing he does when Trish crashes through his shop, is hit on her by calling her babe. And the second time he meets lady, he hits on her before she shoots him. Dante always hit on chicks, he just didn't mean anything by it. It was a part of his playful personality. He was maybe reserved in the anime. And while I'm obviously taking from the anime, I'm basing Dante's character from the games, mostly number 4 where he was a gigantic goofball.**

 **Anyways, long ass author note over.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: This chapter is really fucking long. Like 16 pages or over 7,000 words long. I was thinking about writing this separately into multiple chapters but considering I haven't updated in six months, it felt like that would be really asshole move to do. Anyways enjoy.**

* * *

Momo couldn't believe it at first. The person in front of her was the last person that she expected to come. Yet that red Haori, Bizarre sword, and white hair were all proof enough that he was in fact here. Dante, her lazy captain, was right in front of her.

Momo looked to see that Dante's iconic sword clashed against Tier's zanpakto, stopping it mid swing. Both blades were locked in a bind. Tier's zanpakto shook like a quake trying to force its way through the other sword, But Dante's stood still. His sword did not shake or give any hint of giving in. Dante stood there unmovable, like a mighty mountain refusing to move for any disaster.

Momo tried to get a look at both of their faces. She saw a difference in Tier's face. It was subtle as a subtle change that happened to with here eyes. Her eyes narrowed only a little bit at the sight of the man before them.

It was hard for Momo to see her captain's face as His back was to her. What little of his face that she did see was unreadable. Gone was his smirk and in place was an expression blank as unwritten paper. His eyes were covered by the bangs of his white hair, casting shadows down to his face.

Then motion stirred in Dante. With no signal or telegraph, He jerked his sword up. Both blades repelled each other with such force that it played Tier's hand causing her to jump back a couple feet. When Tier landed her eyes changed, from no longer widened but now narrowed, in pure anger.

Momo trying to get his attention again barely muttered "Dante Taichou? Is it really you?"

Motion stirred in Dante again as he slowly turned to his to his lieutenant. Momo was a little surprised however when she saw his face. His hair was now parted from his eyes and gone was the unreadable expression. Instead, his mouth crept up into that all too familiar grin.

And that cocky voice was heard once again "Do you know anybody else this good looking?"

"Heh" It was one of his cheesy lines but Momo couldn't suppress her chuckle. "You're really here?"

"Hey I promised you that I'll be there for you. Remember?"

A small smile formed on Momo's lips. Those words rang with sincerity with her. The fact that her captain, the same one she disapproved of for all these months, was living up to his promise caused a wave of relief to wash upon her. Yet she felt something other than relief, more than relief. It was strange as she hasn't felt it in a long time, but she felt that familiar feeling. For the first time since before the Ryoka invasion, she felt safe. Safe enough, that she gave in to the demand of sleep with no hesitation.

Momo finally fell unconscious. Her body slumped and fell, offering no resistance to the pull of gravity. Yet before she even made contact with the grass, a hand suspended her in midair. In one smooth action Dante appeared behind her, sword on his back, both hands holding his lieutenant. And with gentle care she scooped her up, cradling her like a newborn.

Dante sighed as he looked at his lieutenant. New wounds appeared all around her, and old wounds opened up. Dante knew that the hole in Momo's chest hadn't completely mended, yet she charged so recklessly into the fray of battle. He could only assume that it was because of Toshiro. Friendship could leave that effect on people.

He then looked at the group responsible for the battered body in his arms, the two Gillian, the bull like Adjuchas, and the blonde Arrancar. He knew from the stories that it was Tier Harribel, the Tre Espada. He knew that she powerful, proving that she was more than a match for the Gotei 13 when Toshiro had to team up with the visored to fight her, and even then with was Aizens betrayal that struck her down. Dante only glared into the blonde beauty's eyes, the only part of her face uncovered by her jacket. She simply glared back.

And then more importantly Dante turned to see Toshiro Hitsugaya, the boy who reminded him so much of the relative he lost. The poor kid looked like he went through a meat grinder with no strength to stand. Yet he still looked like he wasn't out of the fight. He was a stubborn kid. That was one of his best attributes.

Dante cracked a smile as he spoke to Toshiro "Hey kid, you still in one piece?"

A visible vein popped in Toshiro's skull, but he held his anger in and asked "It's about time someone showed up. What took you so long Dante?"

Dante let a small laugh "Well I had to get Unohana and the rest of the fourth to come with me. Then we ran into the group that came under fire from this rag tag crew."

Toshiro's anger faded and his features softened. "Are they ok?"

"Yep. Some are going to be out of commission for a while, but everyone is going to live."

"And Matsumoto?"

A new voice rang "She's fine too."

Toshiro turned around to see Retsu Unohana was standing right behind him.

"Matsumoto has a burned shoulder but that's all. She was able to get back to the soul society. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have known what was happening."

Toshiro let out a long sigh before saying "I'm glad." The tension flowed out of him more than the blood flowing from his chest. The word relief was not a just enough word for the way he was feeling now. "So what happens now?"

Retsu said nothing at first. She simply unsheathed her zanpakto. It soon dissolved, changing seamlessly into a fog of green gas. The fog then formed into the all too familiar giant, one eyed, manta ray that was Unohana's shikai, Minazuki.

It was only when Minazuki was fully formed that she spoke "Right now we need to get you and Hinamori out of here and into intensive care. If you could please -"

She was stopped by the loud crackle of electricity. Turning to the direction of the sound, both Toshiro and Retsu saw Tier back in the sky. Golden lightning danced around her raised fist, before she punched it at the two.

The golden glow left her hand forming into ten balas. Each one soared with tremendous speed towards the two captains and the one eyed monster.

Toshiro tried to crawl out of the way despite his injuries, yet stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and Retsu's voice whispered into his ear.

"Watch"

The first bala was only half a foot of distance from Toshiros face. Yet it never connected.

 _*BANG*_

Right then it exploded creating a large blast of smoke in front of Toshiro.

*BANG*  
The second bala exploded.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

And like a daisy chain of firecrackers, the rest of the balas exploded. Out of each explosion a ring of smoke blew out and around. Each ring formed creating a massive brown cloud of smoke that filled the immediate area like morning fog.

It took only seconds for the smoke to settle, and show the aftermath. Now new wounds were inflicted to the already scared landscape. Toshiro sat with a bewildered look, wondering how he was saved from having any new gashes amongst his body. Retsu stood clean and pristine, as if time itself shielded her from the blast.

Both Toshiro and Retsu then looked at Tier. She glared at them like a predator glares at the prey that was able to escape its jaws. It was no guess that she was trying to figure out how her attack was spoiled, the same thing that was on Toshiro's mind. Then it clicked and the three turned to the other company on the battlefield.

There stood Dante in the same spot. Momo was still cradled to his body, her face touching his neck. However, when both his hands were supporting her before, now only his left was supporting her. His right hand was pointed upwards, holding that large silver handgun, as a string of smoke crawled out of the barrel and climbed to the sky. It was only then when Toshiro and undoubtedly tier finally pieced the puzzle together. Both skillfully and remarkably, shot each bala, before they could even reach. Tier glared at the man even harder.

Dante gave a short laugh before he spoke "You know I hate being ignored…" Then like an old west gunslinger, he spun his silver gun around his finger, before holstering it behind his back and using his left arm to support Momo once again. Dante then turned to Tier before continuing "Especially from a babe like yourself."

Dante started walking walking towards Toshiro and Retsu, his sight never left the posse of hollows. His back was never shown to them. "Just give me a minute babe, and I'll be your opponent."

When Dante was right in front of his fellow captain, he gave them a sly smile. His attention was then drawn to the one eyed monster Minazuki. The beast opened his mouth stuck out his long tounge. Dante's gaze shifted back to Retsu, a concerned look on his face about what that implied. However a sweet smile and a simple nod was enough assurance for him as he walked past the division 4 captain then put Momo on the middle line of the great beasts tongue.

Minazuki's tongue slid back into its mouth with great care, trying to keep Momo from falling off. A cliché gulp was heard, as it swallowed Momo into its stomach. Without any warning the tongue shot back out and wrapped Toshiro's chest. Toshiro began to protest, but any words he was about to say quickly turned into a large screech as he was jerked into Minazuki's mouth, followed by another gulp.

Dante started to bellow in laughter at what happened to Toshiro. He however quickly cut it off before giving Minazuki a smile, and patting it on the head. It was then he turned to Unohana and spoke.

"Make sure my lieutenant gets through this Retsu."

She only nodded in response, before hopping onto Minazuki's back. Like a copter it hovered up to the sky until the tips of the giant trees were ling below them. Then like a bird, Minazuki soared through the air, taking the precious human cargo back to the safety of the Seireitei.

Dante laughed when they were out of sight, turning back to the hollows "Well, should we now get this party-"

He was cut off when he saw three pillars of bright red, and one wide arc of gold charge at him.

The ceros collided to the ground ripping the earth where they clashed. The shock wave caused chunks of rock and dirt fly everywhere, cutting through the air and glowing as red as a comet entering the atmosphere. The trees around them ripped and shattered into innumerable shards of wood, as some turned to charcoal from the heat. Others flew like wood darts.

Tier looked at the new crater that she and her new Fracción caused. The crater was full of swirling dirt, but four ceros were should have been more than enough to kill him. It only took three from the Adjuchas and the two Gillians to wound the the short captain, and he only survived because he was in Bankai. This man had no time to react, no time to activate Shikai, or even Bankai. It was overkill.

"Well that was rude."

Tier's face made no change, as she saw the figure of a man jump out of the crater. There stood Dante, patting down his shoulders, and shaking each sides of his Haori. He had a film of dirt over his clothes, No holes or rips decorated them. No cuts decorated his body, nor burn marks or bruises. Now blood flowed to the ground. He was in pristine condition absolutely unharmed.

Dante continued patting himself down before continuing "You ever heard of a thing called sportsmanship?"

Tier heard a low grumble to her right. Turning she saw her Adjuchas visibly red in anger.

Before Tier could say anything, the Adjuchas broke his silence and shouted "Shut it! I was lookin forward to eaten snowy! But no daddy had to rescue him!"

Dante face shifted to show a look of confusion "Daddy?"

"Don't play dumb! It's obvious you're snowy's father!"

"Snowy? You mean Toshiro?" The Adjuchas only stared at Dante causing him to solve the puzzle himself. When the pieces clicked Dante clutched his stomach laughing. "Sorry buddy. The kid and I aren't related."

"Don't you lie to me! That's the only reason you came rushing down here."

"No I came down here because my lieutenant rushed into a battle way over her head. So while your little daddy theory is entertaining, it's not the case Toro. Shouldn't you be going after bugs bunny or something?

The Adjuchas seethed in anger he was ready to charge at this man, but was stopped by Tiers hand in his face.

Eyeing Dante she asked "That pawn is your lieutenant? Does that make you Division 5's captain?"

"Oh right we haven't been introduced." Dante took a gentlemanly bow. "I am Dante" As he slowly started to rise back up he continued "And yeah, I now have your former bosses old job."

Tier's eyes started to narrow "Then I'll use your death to force Yamamoto into giving me Aizen"

"Why? You want to help Him?"

"I want to kill him."

Dante snorted "Get in line babe. I think you don't realize that Aizen is the closest thing to immortal that you will get. And, what makes you think I'm going to lose to you?"

Tier glared at Dante "You think you're stronger?"

"I know I'm stronger babe." With that Dante pulled his sword from his back and pointed it at the Arrancar in the sky. "So shall we get this show on the road?"

Silence fell for what seemed like ages. Tier said nothing, only glared at the main who pointed a sword at her. He returned the glare, only he had a devious smile on his face, which caused tier to glare even more.

It was then with her finger pointed to the two Gillians behind her, she broke her silence in a loud whisper.

"Kill him."

Both Gillians reacted, firing crimson ceros at the white haired man. Before they connected, Dante disappeared. The two Gillians cut of their ceros, looking for their prey, before a whistle caught their attention. Turning to the sound, they saw Dante at the edge of the clearing, waving with a gigantic grin on his face.

The Gillians fired two fresh ceros at the captain. This time instead of turning into a blur again, Dante simply ran to his left, missing the ceros by an inch. The ceros however followed as he continued to run. Dante was able to keep a hairs width between him and the ceros as he outran them. The ceros cleared through the trees at the edge of the clearing, cutting them down faster than any saw would.

These two Gillians were particularly deadly with their ceros. It wasn't only the power of their ceros but the speed that caused them not to be trifled with. They fired almost instantaneously, and reached their targets within seconds. It would be difficult to shunpo out of their path without being hurt.

Yet Dante was able to disappear from their ceros in the blink of an eye. And not only, but he outran them with the strength of his legs. And he had that smile on the entire time.

Dante ran a good distance to the edge of the clearing, almost to the point where he was parallel to the two towering Gillians. It was at that moment when he jumped onto a tree, running up its trunk like a ninja. The ceros ripped through the base of the tree causing it to fall towards the two black giants. The Gillian's weren't done however. Their ceros traveled up the tree, disintegrating the portion their crimson pillars passed over. Dante payed no heed however. He kept running the violent energy where he was not long after. It was when Dante was at the very tip of the tree that he kicked off. The tree had fallen close enough that what little was left was only a few feet away from the Gillians.

Dante soared through the air, sword pointed at the giant Menos, a smirk on his face as he finally looked at them. However the smirk was wiped from his face, and his eyes widened at the scene in front of him. Only one Gillian had a cero chasing him. The other Gillian's mouth glowed red, before a new torrent of energy flew from its jaws.

The cero ripped through the air and the position that Dante was at. The trees in its path, were halved down. The tips fell down to the earth, causing quakes as they collided. The Gillians didn't even bother to look around. It was almost certain at this point. That man was finally dead.

Or so they though. That notion was shattered when they heard another whistle, in the space between the two Gillians heads.

Turning to the noise, the Gillians noses collided into each other. And in a flash, was Dante standing right on top of where the two noses met, sword rested on his shoulder.

Gillians are not the smartest of the Menos. They have minds like beasts. When they saw Dante they only saw prey that needed to be attacked. Two ceros surged from their mouths, aimed at the man with the red Haori. What the Gillians forgot was that they were practically facing each other.

Dante disappeared in a blur, and the two ceros collided with the Gillians masks. Fire and smoke appeared covering their heads. Their bodies started to dissolve into black smoke before fading away. The space where two giant monsters stood, now was empty.

Dante landed a good couple of feet away, and as he sheathed his sword, he looked at the now empty space. That grin broke into a full smile as he looked of the outcome then large amount of laughter followed.

"Well talk about-"

Dante cut off his sentence when he heard a large growling moo right above him. When he looked up he saw the bull Adjuchas, visibly pissed as it charged a cero between its horns.

The bull let the cero fly, causing another dustbowl to be etched into the earth. When the cero was over, the Adjuchas descended to the ground, peering over the the new crater he made.

The Adjuchas let out a snort "That asshole better be dead this time or else-"

It hushed up when it felt a new amount of weight amongst its back followed by the words "Or else what?"

The Adjuchas turned his head, trying to see what little of his back he could. His sight was met with the white haired captain. Dante was sitting on the Arduchas like how one would sit when riding a horse.

The Adjuchas's temper rose as he shouted "GET THE FUCK OFF!" as it jumped onto its front legs, throwing its hind into the air. The motion was violent with intent to kick off the man on top. Yet that weight on his back stayed.

The Adjuchas bucked continuously. Each one was more violent than the last. Each time it bucked, it would also rotate at least one hundred and eighty degrees, in an attempt to disorient the man sitting on it.

Yet Dante stuck on the bull. None of the violent jerks kicked him off. As if he was fused to the hollow, he sat on its back. One hand grabbed onto the back of the Adjuchas's neck. The other was raised, cutting through the air. Dante's smile grew wider and wider as he rode the bull. Laughter could be heard escaping his mouth followed by phrases like "woah hey there!" and "Come on, get em up!" This caused the Adjuchas to see red, bucking even more violently than before.

The bull howled in anger, before jerking the most violently its ever done. This time the bucking, was too much for Dante, as he found himself thrown in the air. Recovering he started to flip, each one increasing in speed as he got closer to the ground. On The last flip, he extended his legs as they caught the ground. He started to skid, the momentum still against him. However he was able to stabilize himself as he stood upright. He landed gracefully, but more important, he landed stylishly.

He smiled at the angry Adjuchas before talking again "I've never been to a rodeo before that. I'd say I make a pretty damn good bull rider." Dante grabbed his sword yet again, as he pointed it at the bull "Now how about I take a shot at being a bull fighter?"

The Adjuchas didn't bother to respond. It just charged at Dante, hoping to pierce him with its steel horns. Its horns met the air as Dante dashed quickly to the right. Dante then lunged at the beast, sword in front of him, trying to impale the Adjuchas in the gut. The bull was only fast enough to turn and block it with its golden mask. The sword only gave a glancing blow, but that was enough for the bull to use its trick.

The sword bounced off the hollows mask with such force that Dante was pushed back a foot, staggered from the blast. Before he could even recover the the bull was in his face, doing another one eighty to where its ass was right in front of his face. The bull bucked once again, and when the hoofs of its legs were parallel to Dante's face, they shot out, trying to connect with his Jaw.

But yet again, Dante was the faster of the two, and before the bull's legs kicked out, Dante quickly recovered. He slid on his knees, under the legs as they cut through the space he was standing. As he slid underneath the giant bull he swung his sword three times. Each swing left a deep gash on the bulls gut. The bull screamed jumping onto his back legs as it tried to trample the man with its front, only to realize that Dante already spun out from underneath and was to its right.

The bull charged again, only to feel a sword blow to its horn. Shockingly the force was enough to send the Adjuchas flying as it crashed into a tree. Once again dirt was kicked up into a fog. However this time a bright crimson peered through the fog, before a large cero shot out.

This time Dante stood still, right in the path of the cero. When it was an inch in front of his face, he swung down his sword. Like a prism his sword, divided the crimson light into two halves, whizzing right past his sides, until the light dimmed and faded out.

Dante heard steps behind and quickly spun. He saw the bull, charging at him in a sneak attack. As the horns drew closer to his flesh, Dante lept into the Air, doing an Ariel flip as the bull charged under him. And as Dante arched over the bull, his leg shot out and kicked the bull right behind the skull.

The bull was thrown a yard away from his adversary, and when he recovered he saw the bastard still with a grin through all that happened. However this time it was different. He was now squatting down. His sword was now held reversely, blade held behind him, stretching from his forearm to over his head. The blade started to take a red glow, before being engulfed fully in a red light. The light grew brighter and brighter until Lightning danced across the blade, from the tip to the hilt.

Dante smirked as he swung his sword up, while yelling "Drive!"

A large crescent of energy launched from his sword and flew towards the bull. The bull scoffed as it in turn used his ability and blocked the attack with its golden skull. The crescent shifted an molded into a ball of unstable energy, before being shot back at its caster.

But Dante was ready. His sword was now held properly by two hands, was held right up by the said of his head. His posture was that of an expert batter. And when his own attack came right at him, Dante swung his sword like it was a Louisville slugger. The blade connected with the red ball, and sent it charging back to the Adjuchas.

The bull charged back at the attack, ready to deflect it again. But as the ball came it realized a fatal mistake. The ball was a couple of inches below his mask, aimed right at its chest. The bull couldn't shift his head lower to block it, and it was already committed to the charge as such moving out of the way would be impossible. The ball connected to the chest, a fiery explosion following soon after.

Out of the flames ran out the bull. Its body was burned and new gashes were spotted across its chest and front legs. Despite this the bull saw no reason not to charge at the Dante, sword now sheathed on his back, and grin plastered on his face. Energy formed around the steel horns of the bull as it ran faster and faster towards Dante. One could swear the bull was trying to rip Dante in half.

This time the bull felt nothing, but the air where Dante once was, and the blood red Haori now covering its face. The word "Ole!" was shouted in the air shortly later. The Haori passed over its vision, and the Adjuchas used all of its power stop and turn around. He saw Dante, still standing in the same spot, the grin on his face almost bursting into a smile. The bull charged again, steam flowing from his nostrils and ears in a comical way. Once again he felt only the red fabric to his face followed by the words "Ole"!

The bull kept charging, and Dante simply repeated. Dante would spin to the side of the bull as it charged through where he once was. Each time he would grab his Haori and raise it up. Each time the Haori would cover the charging bull as he spun to the side. After each pass Dante would shout "Ole!" This spectacle was the closest thing that the soul society would ever get to a Spanish bull fight.

The bull passed ten times before stopping and glaring at Dante. Dante looked at the angry Adjuchas and just couldn't keep it in anymore. His grin burst into laughter.

"What do you know" Dante bellowed trying to catch his breath "I make a pretty good bull fighter as well."

A large bellow filled the air as the Bull charged at Dante faster than any other time it charged, blood flowing faster from his legs as they looked like they were about to snap in half.

"DON'T YOU FUCKIN MAKE FUN OF ME!" The bull shouted as it charged, anger coursing from every word.

Again Dante spun to the bull's side, as the bull came into contact with the familiar red fabric. This time however when the bulls neck was parallel to Dante, he gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, and shouted one last "OLE!" as he brought the sword down in a mighty blow.

 _*CLANG*_

The grin on Dante's face finally fell, as he looked at who was in front of him. Tier Harribel was now in between her subordinate and the white haired captain. Her zanpakto was locked with Dante's sword. Dante's realized what was happening. Tier imitated him, swooping in to saver her subordinate the same way he swept in to save Momo. Before she could imitate him even further, Dante was the first to break the blades apart as he leapt a few feet away. He looked blankly at the Tres Espada. She simply glared at him.

The bull started to look around until he saw Tier in front of it. It was about to say something but was quickly hushed when Tier turned to it.

Tier finally spoke "Return to Hueco Mundo."

It took a few seconds for the Adjuchas to comprehend Tier's orders, and when it did it shouted in anger "FUCK NO! YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME TIER! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO KICK THA-"

Its rant was cut short when it saw Tier's hard glare. The bull could only give out a "tch" as a sky behind him ripped into a Garganta. It glared at Dante before running up the trees and into the Garganta. The sky then seamed back together until the rip was no longer there.

Tier turned to Dante, and saw that his grin returned.

Dante broke the silence with a chuckle "A little attached to Toro are ya?"

Tier payed no heed to his insult as she responded "Losing the Gillians was bad enough. I already lost my previous Fracción to Yamamoto. I will not lose my allies to you."

"You actually care about your subordinates. I like that in a woman. It's a shame we're enemies." Dante sighed as he said "Well it's about time we wrap this up." And then he bowed gentlemanly again "May I have this dance m'lady?"

"You're taking me lightly. Don't. Otherwise…" Tier performed sonido to get to the bowing man "You'll-"

She cut herself off as the spot were where Dante bowed was now empty. She was about to look around, until she heard the cocking of a gun right behind her.

 _*BANG*_

Tier was barely able to sonido out of the way of the bullet, before she reappeared to Dante's side. Tier swung her zanpakto in a horizontal cut, aimed at Dante's abdomen. However Dante was already in the air, arched right over her as he then landed behind her back.

Dante started to laugh again "Well look at that. Looks like Fonzie isn't the only one that's jumped the shark."

Tier disappeared in a sonido again, before reappearing in front of Dante with her zanpakto held right above her head. She brought her zanpakto down in a violent swing, enough to chop Dante in half. Dante however pivoted on the balls of his feet and turned, watching the blade cut through the air that was just around him.

Tier launched an upward swing at him, only for him to pivot out of the way again. She launched a volley of blows, enough to rend a whole army. Each one however would only rend the air. Dante would move only the tiniest as Tier would swing a blow. It was enough for her zanpakto to miss by inches. Tier launched another horizontal swing towards Dante. Instead of pivoting again, Dante instead spun with the most dramatic flair until he was behind the tanned beauty. In turn he grabbed his sword and returned one of the many blows Tier gave with a downward swing himself.

Tier was barely able to sonido out of the way sword. When she reappeared it was once again in the air. The familiar yellow danced from the digits of her hand, before she thrusted her hand down at the man. Balas flew from her hand again, but it wasn't only ten like before. The number of balas was in the hundreds, close to even a thousand. They started to fall like a storm of comets.

Dante's smirk grew. Sword already on his back, he pulled out ebony and ivory, twirling and spinning them until he finally pointed them at the storm. A volley of fire was unleashed. Dante continued to fire more and more bullets at a superhuman pace. The semi auto handguns fired so fast that they matched the fire rate of a minigun.

The volley of bullets collided with the hail of balas. Each bullet precisely hit a hit a bala out of the sky, before they were even allowed to fall past the tips of the trees. The balas exploded, each one leaving a large ball of smoke in its wake. The forced caused the leaves to fall from the trees around the clearing. To modern eyes it would seem that the sky was lit up by anti-aircraft fire.

A thick layer of smoke filled between the sky and the tops of the trees. It was almost impossible to look down to the ground. Yet that is what Tier was doing as she tried to look at her opponent.

She heard him shout "Drive!" as a red crescent of energy ripped through the smoke.

Tier channeled energy into her zanpakto. A golden light enveloped through the hollow part of her sword before completely enveloping the entire blade.

Tier shouted "Ola Azul!" as she swung her own crescent of energy towards her opponent's.

Both crescents collided and exploded on contact. However before she could event try another attack. Tier heard another shout "1,2!" as two new crescents were launched right at her.

Tier dodged but it wasn't enough. One of the crescents nicked her in the side. Blood started to flow freely onto her abdomen. She was about to clutch her side but stopped as she heard the rustling of clothing right above her. Looking up she saw Dante, both hands on his sword, as he started to rapidly descend upon her, his sword swinging down in a mighty blow.

Tier swung up knocking his sword out of the way, and knocking Dante off balance. The then soared up, meeting Dante face to face. Her sword thrusted out, destined to meet his gut.

But yet again, Dante disappeared.

Tier started to look for her opponent. A loud whistle halted her search as she turned to her right. Dante was sitting on a translucent circle of red energy. Symbols decorated the inner, most were constantly in motion. One of Dante's legs was crossed, while the other dangled over the circle, swinging in the wind.

Tier stared at Dante before deciding to speak "You're not a real shinigami."

Dante's grin fell as he asked "What?"

"You have no reiryoku. Otherwise you would have used your reiatsu to walk on the air, instead of sitting on a platform. And that sword is not a Zanpakto."

"What you mean rebellion?" Dante then pointed to his sword. "Heh. You're one Perceptive babe. "

Tia repeated the statement "You're not really a Shinigami."

Dante shrugged "Nope. Yet for whatever reason, they still made me a captain."

Tier's eyes narrowed "What are you?"

"Just a regular good looking man."

"You take me for a fool. No regular man would be able to fight an Arrancar."

"So you say." Dante stood up on the red platform "Well the song is close to ending. Shall we finish this dance?"

Tier charged at the man on the platform as she then struck at him with her zanpakto. Dante kicked off the platform, dispersing it and avoiding the strike as it missed his chin. He soared through the sky as Tier charged at him again. As she brought her zanpakto down on him, Dante swung rebellion to her right. Both blades connected but the force of Dante's blow was so much that it knocked Tier away,in line with one of the now bare trees. She was only able to recover before kicking off the tree.

As she looked in front of her, Dante was already on top of her, once again swinging rebellion down. Tier was able to block the blow but the force of it shoved her down as she violently collided to the earth.

Tier lifted herself off the ground; her body bruised all over from the brutal landing. When she stood saw Dante, only a few feet away from her. Gone was Rebellion, and in his hands was once again Ebony and Ivory, aimed directly at her. The barrels glowed, similar in color as the ceros of the Gillians.

Dante's index fingers pulled each trigger, and crimson lightning shot out each gun. Tier dodged to the left and a volley of lightning hit the tree once behind her. Each shot ripped boulder like chunks from the tree.

Tier could not rest however as another volley of lightning was following her. She flew as Dante continued to fire after her. The volley of lightning was right behind her, gaining in speed. Dante was able to fire the shots as fast as he fired the guns regularly.

The volley was close to Tiers leg's, quickly starting to overtake her. Before it could, she disappeared in a flash of sonido. But as reappeared, a new volley of lightning was already right in front of her. She was only able to perform sonido again.

Dante holstered his guns. A couple seconds passed until he heard a loud noise in the sky. Turning he saw Tier standing above the tree line yet again. Zanpakto held above her head, Tier charged her golden energy into it. This time was different; the energy wrapped around it was far more powerful, judging by the pressure it gave off.

Tier then shouted "Cero" as she swung the zanpakto down, the wide arc of energy shot towards Dante yet again.

Dante didn't try to dodge. He only put his left arm behind his back as his right arm stretched out towards the cero. A golden circle of energy formed in front of him. It looked identical to the red platform was sitting on, but this was much larger as it covered a large portion of him and the ground.

The cero connected to the circle. The cero was stopped dead in its tracks. It didn't break through or bounce off. The golden circle absorbed the great arc of energy, until there was no more to absorb.

The cero ended and the circle dispersed. Dante remain still, and in a flash of sonido Tier appeared right behind him. She charged at him, ready to use whatever advantage she could get against the man. When she was a swords length away, she stopped. For the first time during the whole fight, her eyes widened at what was front of her.

It was the glowing barrel of Ivory, pointed right at her chest.

 _*BANG*_

Dante turned to Tier finding her a few feet away. She was clutching her left shoulder as a new hole adorned it, big enough for a bowling ball to fall through without touching any of the sides.

Dante watched Tier as she glared at him. Gone was any control of her emotions, instead there was anger in her eyes.

Tier then spoke "You're a hollow"

Dante shook his head "Sorry that was an incorrect answer. Would you like to use a lifeline?"

Tier then exploded "Don't you lie to me! The energy from those guns were identical to a bala!"

"Well they weren't any bala, nor were they kido or anything like that."

"Then what were they?"

"Just me."

Tier's eyes narrowed even lower "You expect me to believe that?"

"Believe what you want. What that attack was is irrelevant. What's important right now the choice you have to make."

Dante saw Tiers glare harden before he continued "At the condition you're at now, you only have two choices. Choice one, you open a Garganta and walk your ass right back to Hueco Mundo with your tail in-between your legs. You'll have a huge hit to your ego, but you'll be alive."

"You overestimate yourself. I still haven't used my Resurrección."

"You do have that, but there is something you haven't caught on babe. I've been holding back myself."

Tier's eyes widened at that. Not long after she started to feel a dark aura around Dante. Wisps of black and crimson danced around the captain. Tier could also see a difference in his eyes. Gone was the baby blue color; what replaced it was glowing red energy.

Dante started to glare at her as he continued "Now choice two, you release your Resurrección. You come at me with everything your got, and I go all out. And trust me babe, you don't want that."

Then Dante's dark aura grew and forced out all around him. The trees around him started to crack from the sheer power. As Dante stared at Tier, he could see her wince and sweat at the aura that must have been suffocating to most.

Dante spoke again, this time his voice was distorted, as if there were two of him speaking **"You either leave or you die. Times ticking, choose now. One or Two?"**

Both glared at each other in silence, Dante's aura raged all around them like a wild fire.

It was only when the ripping sound of a Garganta opening, filled the air, that Dante finally tempered his aura. Above Tier, a new Garganta opened. Tier stood up and in one final act of sonido, went to the hole in the sky. Before she entered however, she glared at Dante.

She then spoke with venom in her voice "I will return. And when I do, I will kill you."

Dante's grin crept unto his face yet again as he shouted "When you do, pick a better location. I sure would love to ride the waves with you."

Tier finally entered the Garganta as the fabric of time melded back together, and the only person still in the clearing was Dante.

Dante looked around the forest, surveying the damage done. He then started the backup, ready to leave.

However before he could he heard the word "TAICHOU!"

Turning he saw at least 10 of his subordinates walking into the clearing, right towards him. Some looked around completely shocked and bewildered by the damage done to the trees. Others looked at him with nervous or worried faces. Dante glared at the group, remembering that he gave specific orders for them to stay in the Seireitei.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Dante shouted as he walked to his subordinates "I told you that I had this covered!"

One of his subordinates in turned stepped up as he took a big gulp "We heard that Momo and Hitsugaya Taichou were injured, when we learned who you were fighting, we decided to come down." He then looked around at the damage "What happened to the hollows?"

"The Gillians are dead. The Adjuchas was ordered to withdraw back to Hueco Mundo. And I forced Tier to leave."

The group stared at their captain. Some eyes were wide while others jaws dropped to the ground. However one member of the group rushed forward, anger coursing through her eyes.

She shouted "You let her go?!"

"Forced her to go." Dante corrected.

Dante's subordinate pointed at him as she began to shout "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Letting an Espada go is going to make us look even worse! You've just damaged our divisions reputation!"

It was Dante's turn to let his temper flare as he shouted "You're more worried about that!" Dante then pointed to one area of the forest "Look over there!"

The group looked. First it didn't click in, but then they quickly realized. Even though the trees were bare, they were still perfectly intact. It was the only portion of the forest that didn't scored by the battle.

Dante continued in his rant "You know what's only a couple miles beyond those trees? A town filled with at least half a million people is what! I've been doing my damndest not to let any cero or bala fly that way. If me and Tier went all out, they would have been hit with a tsunami and quickly become the new Atlantis! And you're more worried about our reputation than their lives?!"

Dante walked up right in front the subordinate as he stared her down. She looked away, as if she couldn't be able to look up at him.

Dante then spoke again "You're duty is to protect people from hollows. And you're duty comes first. Don't let petty things like reputation get in the way of that!"

Dante then walked past the group who stared at his back "Now I'm going to check on Momo . Now maybe you'll follow my orders this time and go back to the Seireitei!"

Dante then left the broken forest, as the group just stared at his back.

* * *

 **AN: Long and pain in the ass chapter to write. I Put it off for so long, because I knew it was going to be long. Hopefully this will hold you over till I decide to update again.**

 **In response to Ralex, I don't really like one piece, So no.**

 **See you all later.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Another long chapter.**

* * *

Momo started to slowly open her eyes. The light pierced through the darkness that was her vision, blinding her as she only saw a blur. Seconds passed and the blur started to shifted and contorted as her eyes tried to focus. More second passed and the blur cleared turn into sharp image.

She found herself staring at the ceiling. Her mind was still half asleep, trying to desperately wake the other half up as it pieced the puzzle of what happened. The only thing that Momo knew was that she shouldn't be here. Before she slept she wasn't under a roof but under the the many leaves of trees surrounding her.

Then her mind finally woke, and the pieces put together. The memories rushed into her mind. She remembered the grim news she received. She remembered rushing to the mighty forest, ignoring her muscles pleas to stop. She remembered staring right at the Tres Espada whose eyes pierced into her soul.

She remembered the Red haori of her captain, as he saved her from a killing blow. Most importantly she rembered…

"TOSHIRO!" Momo shouted as she jumped. She immediately regretted it, the muscles in her back contracted. Every muscle in her torso burned, as if they exposed to the air. The pain was enough to cause whimper. Seconds passed as the sharp pain in her muscles, started to quickly fade. Momo breathed heavily, her thought dry as paper.

Seconds passed as Momo tried to calm down. She fought through the pain as she forced her hand to her head. Her lungs hurt with a piercing pain as she tried to slow down her breathing.

It was only after Momo started to calm down that she started to take everything in. the first thing she noticed was the feeling of soft fabric brushing along her feet. As she looked down she saw that she was sitting in a single size bed a blanket covering her from the waist down.

Her attention was then drawn to what she was wearing. Gone was her Shihakushō. What replaced it were the standard white hospital robes. Fighting the pain Momo pulled the robes opened. She found that her entire torso was covered in bandages, wrapped tightly as if to keep her together.

A gentle breeze, brushed across her face, soothing her. Turning to her left she saw opened window. It hovered over the streets of the Seireitei. Momo then turned to the room around her. It was a plain room. The only things in it besides the bed, was a single chair with no rests, next to the door on her right.

It was then when Momo realized where she was. She was in the coordinated relief station, located in the 4th division barracks.

As if coordinated, the door opened. Turning to it Momo saw a familiar face walking in. Now in the room was the tall lieutenant of division 4, Isane Kotetsu.

Isane's eyes widened when they met the sight of Hinamori "Momo! You're already awake!" Isane walked over to the bed before she began an examination on Momo. First she put her fingers on Momo's wrist, trying to feel for her pulse. Then she gently touched Momo's chest. "You shouldn't even be awake for at least a couple more days. You've already slept through four. How are you feeling?"

Momo muttered out the only word she could think of. "Sore."

"That's not surprising. Your entire torso is blackened with bruises. Something as simple as sitting up or lying down might cause severe pain." Isane stopped her examination as she looked at Momo, concern showing through her eyes. "Your wounds from the winter war also opened up. You're lucky to be alive."

Momo's eyes gazed down to the sheets, unable to look at Isane. Not to long after Isane continued her examination of the battered lieutenant. Momo sat quietly as Isane softly poked and prodded her. Her mind was was less focused on Isane and and more one what happened. She didn't remember anything that day after Dante taichou saved her. The desire for information welled up inside her, until she couldn't take it anymore.

Momo turned to Isane before asking "Excuse me Isane, what happened while I was unconscious?"

Isane stopped her examination once more as she looked at Momo "What do you remember?"

"Everything until I fell unconscious."

Isane sighed "From what Unohana Taichou told me, she came shortly after Dante Taichou saved you. She escorted you and Hitsugaya Taichou to safety, while Dante Taichou held off Tier Harribel."

Momo's eyes widened "He fought her?"

"Yes. He was able to kill the two Gillians, and force Tier and her Adjuchas to flee back to Hueco Mundo."

Momo's jaw almost fell to the floor when she heard that. Tier Harribel was a Espada, that proved more than a match for any captain. Yet her captain was able to force her to run away? Toshiro was barely able to come on top when he fought her.

'Toshiro'

That name rang in her head again. The image of his bloodied body was burning in her skull.

"How's Toshiro?"

Isane gave a brief glance towards Momo concern shown through her face until a smile crept on her mouth "He's fine. He has a broken leg, and the cuts on his body will take time to heal, but he's alive and recovering."

A smile crept up on Momo's face "I'm glad"

The word Glad was an understatement. Toshiro Hitsugaya, her best friend since childhood, survived. When she saw him leaning on that tree, sticky with his own blood she almost snapped. Now there was no more worrying. Toshiro was alive

Silence hung in the air for at least a minute, until Isane broke it by standing up "You need a lot of rest. You'll also need to stay in bed. No trying to walk alright?"

Momo nodded, causing Isane to smile as she walked back to the door. Before she walked out of the room she turned back to Momo.

"Your taichou has been waiting here the entire time you've been out. He wanted to talk to you when you were awake."

Momo flinched when she heard that. Shortly after, Isane left and the door closed. It was just Momo in the room; her only company the thoughts in her head.

She was worried about what Dante was going to say. It was more than likely that he was angry. Her storming off to the battlefield was in breach of a lieutenant's duties. She should have found Dante and figure out the next course of action. Instead she rushed to battle. She basically went right over his head.

It was kind of funny to Momo as she thought about it. If it were a few days ago, Momo would doubt that she would care getting scolded by Dante. She would probably get mad at that he would have the gall to discipline them. So why was she starting to worry now?

Was it because he actually fulfilled his promise?

 _'I will be there for you.'_

Those words started to burn in her skull. Right before she even heard what happened to Toshiro, she scoffed at those words. She thought that it was an empty promise. Now she knew how real it was, when it kept her head on her shoulders.

Her thoughts were shattered like glass when she heard the door creak open. In walked her captain, emotions surprisingly hidden this time.

Dante looked at Momo for a good second before he smirked and started to speak "Hey Momo." He grabbed the chair next to the door and brought it towards the bed. He turned the chair around before he sat down. His head was in his arms as they were folded on the back. "How are you feeling?"

Momo answered meekly "Fine, just a little sore."

"Only a little? You're bruised worse than an apple"

"Alright, my body is aching pretty badly."

"That's no surprise considering how you bounced off that tree."

"Heh… Did you really force Tier retreat?"

Dante chuckled "Yep. I made her run packing. She was such a good dancer too."

Momo didn't respond. Instead she looked down at her hands. Dante's at still, only ready to talk when she was. Both stayed quiet as an awkward tension filled the room.

It only broke when Momo looked back at Dante and asked "Are you mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For me running to save Toshiro… without telling you."

"Oh that" Dante then took a sigh "I'll admit I was disappointed. You should have at least come to me so we could have at least figured something out. Running out there was just reckless."

Momo squirmed when Dante said that. Her eyes fell back to the sheets, guilt filling her gut.

Dante then continued "But no, I'm not angry." Dante smiled when Momo's head rose back up at him wide eyed "Toshiro's your best friend isn't he? Friendship's a does weird things to people. Makes them act without thinking. People will do anything to protect those bonds."

Dante chuckled before continuing "Honestly, if I were in your shoes I would have done the same thing. So no, I'm not mad at you."

Momo stared at her captain, her posture relaxed but guilt still in her eyes. She turned turned to the window, before muttering out "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, as long as you don't do it again."

"That's not what I meant." Momo only gave her captain a glance to see his confused look. She took a big gulp before continuing "I haven't been giving you a chance, haven't I?"

Dante arched an eyebrow "No, You haven't."

Momo stayed silent as she turned back to the window.

"I really looked up to him." Momo's voice was quivering "Aizen was everything that I inspired to be." A sad smile formed "He was smart, a master at kido. But there was more to him than that."

Tears started to run down her eyes "He was always so kind, so caring. He seemed so 'perfect'. I looked up to him so much. And then what happens?"

She then looked back at Dante, tears staining her eyes. "It turns out that he wasn't any of that, that he is just some vile manipulator. He manipulated me into attacking my childhood friend, and stabbed me when he was done using me like a pawn."

Momo's voice broke into hysterics. She forced her breathing to back to normal as she continued "I still held on to that image of him. I thought that he must have had a good reason for what he did. But that was destroyed when he tricked Toshiro into stabbing me."

She leaned towards Dante, a hand on her chest "You want to know whose fault it is for what happened to me? It's my own, for looking up to someone. I allowed myself to trust someone and look at the results. Opening myself up to him like that was just foolish. I should have stood on my own two legs."

Momo then leaned back, before sobbing to herself. Silence filled the air again. Dante looked at his subordinate, with a look of worry. He tried constantly to find the right words only to sigh at the realization that he couldn't find them.

Dante extended his hand out touching Momo's cheeks wiping her tears away with his thumb "Nobody's perfect."

This caused Momo's tears to stop as she looked at the man touching her cheek "What?"

"Nobody's perfect. Each one of us has a side that we don't show to anybody. Even somebody like Ukitake has a side to him that he despises."

"Even you?"

Dante sighed before continuing "You don't even know. With Aizen, it just so happened that his other side was his real nature. If something is too good to be true, it usually is. Your problem wasn't that you trusted him, or looked up to him. There is nothing wrong with that. Your problem is that you _idolized him_."

Momo looked away taken back "I see..."

Dante's hand fell from Momo's face. Silence was starting to fill again only to be stopped when Dante continued "Momo I don't have the words to help you. Nothing that I say will be able to take the pain away or magically help you get over this hurdle in your life. The only thing I can do is be right behind you as support for when you fall back down."

Dante smiled as Momo looked back at him wide eyed. "Don't forget, I'm not the only one for you. You have a lot of people ready to help you back up. Renji, Izuru, Matsumoto, and Toshiro are all there for you. Every chance they got they came over to see how you were doing. There's nothing wrong trying to stand on your own two feet, but there's is also nothing wrong with leaning on a friendly shoulder till you get your breath back to stand."

Momo started to smile at his words. They didn't feel fake. They felt… Normal. She looked at Dante's smirking face. What she was feeling wasn't like it was with Aizen. There was no fascination, no captivation. It just felt normal, like she was with a friend.

Momo smiled as she muttered out "Thank you Dante."

Dante then chuckled "Finally." It was then when Dante stood up "I'm going to go back to the office. Oh Toshiro wanted to talk to you when you woke, but I think he might be asleep. You want me to wake him up."

Momo shook her head "I'm fine with waiting." She then arched an eyebrow "Can I _trust_ you to hold things down?"

"Hey! FYI, I completed the paperwork while waiting in the lobby!"

Momo couldn't help but laugh, and Dante couldn't help but chuckle back.

Dante then walked to the door, putting the chair back into its original position. Before he left however he turned back to Momo and continued "Get some rest. You're going to need to get lots of sleep if you want to be able to stand on your own two feet."

Momo nodded as she watched her captain walk out the door, closing it behind him. She then laid back down, staring at the ceiling. Her troubles were still not over. But she knew that she was on the right road. It helped that she had people to help, even one as bizarre as her captain.

Momo closed her eyes, and sleep took over once more.

* * *

A whole day passed after Momo woke up. Dante received a hell butterfly in his office, from Yamamoto demanding his presence at the captain's council. He was right in front of the doors trying to find the willpower to enter.

It was undoubtedly about the fight with Tier. That was the only thing he heard whispered about wherever he passed. He knew that the old man wanted to question him about it earlier, but Dante wouldn't budge. He sat in the lobby of the coordinated relief station for four days, waiting for any news about the wellbeing of Momo.

With a sigh Dante pushed open the large doors to the captain's council. As he walked into the room he realized that everyone was there except Toshiro.

Dante couldn't help but feel wierded out as he stared into the room. While everyone was in their place, they all had their backs turned to Dante. Instead they were all turned to the wall in the far back. Dante then looked at what had the attention of all previous captains. Immediately he raised an eyebrow.

In the space usually behind Yamamoto, was now host to a large flat screen tv. What was currently playing on the tv was the entire fight between Dante and Tier's Fracción, from the four ceros shot at him, to when Tier finally fled back to Hueco Mundo. Each scene was divided into four halves on the screen, played simultaneously. Each scene was shot with multiple angles, and was edited together with such skill that it would put any Hollywood movie to shame.

It was only when Dante was about to open his mouth that the others turned to him. Some like Ukitake and Unohana gave him friendly smiles. Others like Byakuya and Soifon gave him cold glares. The rest looked at the man neutrally, examining him.

Yamamoto was the first to speak "Dante, com in now."

Dante didn't say anything, only walking to the spot where he was in front of all of his fellow captains. As he looked at the Gotei 13 silence fell again.

Shunsui broke it when he spoke "Hey Dante. How's your lieutenant doing?"

Dante waved "Shell live. She'll be out of commission for a while, but she'll live."

Ukitake then chimed in "The same applies to Toshiro. He was almost in a full body cast when I visited him."

Unohana spoke "Yes both will take some time to heal."

Soifon then asked "How was it that Hitsugaya-taichou got inflicted with such grievous wounds anyway?"

"From what he told me, Tier and her Fracción launched ceros simultaneously at lieutenant Matsumoto and the ten others that arrived on the scene. Hitsugaya taichou took three of the four in order to protect his division."

Soifon scoffed at that "What a fool. When his subordinates were attacked, he should have used that as an opportunity to strike."

Dante grunted as he cut back in "You know bumblebee, for one cute babe you sure are cold."

Soifon immediately shot a glare in Dante's direction trying to pierce his heart like daggers "What have I told you about calling me that?"

"But I heard you like being called bumblebee."

"Not by..."

Shunsui then spoke "Forget it Dante. She only likes it when Yoruichi calls her it."

Soifons glare grew as she turned it to Shunsui. Her cheeks started to pick up a tinge of red. "Shuinsui!"

She was cut off by thunderous laughter. Turning to Dante she saw him almost keel over in laughter.

Dante then spoke "So you're one of _those_ girls. It's a real shame. You don't know what you're missing my little bee."

Soifon was shaking in anger. Her face was now bright red, as if she was sunburnt. She glared at division 5 captain as if she was about to pounce.

"You…"

"Will you two knock it off?"

Both Dante and Soifon turned to the direction of the voice. Dante grunted when he saw that it was division 9 captain Kensei Muguruma that spoke.

Both Kensei and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi or more commonly referred to as Rose, were offered back their former positions as captains. Both accepted, only as a way to protect the other visored still living in the human world. Shinji Hirako was also offered his position back but he declined saying that he needed to make sure Hiyori didn't do anything stupid.

Dante secretly wished that someone else was offered the position of division 9 captain instead of Kensei because he was the one captain that REALLY got on Dante's nerves.

Any response Dante was about to give was cut off when Yamamoto's voice silenced all "If you are finished acting like fools, we can get on with the reason why we are here." Both Dante and Kensei glared at each other before turning back to Yamamoto. "Dante, we are here to discuss your battle against the Tres Espada."

Dante raised his hand "Before we get into that, can somebody tell me how the hell did you get that entire fight on tv?"

It was then that Mayuri Kurotsuchi chimed in "After successfully using monitors as a means of contact in the winter war, I decided that we should use them as a more effective means of archiving events." He then clapped his hands, before pointing them at the monitor "The result was a camera that unlike those crude cameras in the living world is able to capture all angles at once and then edit it into a comprehensible string of footage."

Soifon then joined in as well "I had my men arrive at the scene of battle after Unohana-Taichou left, with Mayuri's invention in hand. They stood back and watched as the device recorded everything."

Dante then snorted "So you're telling me you're willing to adopt modern inventions yet you aren't willing to adopt modern clothes?"

Kensei groaned "Are you really going on about this again?"

Dante immediately turned to Kensei as his eyes narrowed "If I wanted your opinion meathead, I would have given it to you."

Kensei immediately glared at the man as he started to shake "Why you…"

"Gentlemen" both froze, their hairs sticking up as they turned to Unohana with that terrifying smile on her face and that sweet but venomous tone in her voice "Please refrain from arguing, especially you Dante when we already allowed numerous changes to your uniform."

Both said nothing. They only nodded as they started to shake. This caused a few captains to laugh in silence, as they saw the cocky captain shaking in fear.

Shunsui spoke up again "Anyways good job on the fight. Gillian's are a real pain to fight, and Adjuchas are usually a match for a captain. But to fight an Arrancar and come out on top is something else."

Ukitake joined in "Although I do feel bad for bad for the Adjuchas in a way. He looked very angry from your teasing."

Soifon then scoffed "Instead of showing off, you should have finished it as quickly as possible."

Dante just shrugged "Why do anything if you don't do it stylishly?"

Kenpachi hollered "If a fights good you prolong it! Although…" Kenpachi grinned wickedly at Dante "This makes me want to fight you even more."

Yamamoto immediately spoke "You forget that I forbade you two from fighting." A chuckle escaped Dante when he saw Kenpachi groan.

Mayuri then joined in as he stared at Dante "This peaks my curiosity about you even more. I'm close to abducting you and using you as a test subject."

Dante paled at that "I'm not going to be anybody's damn Guiney pig." Dante looked at Yamamoto "Is this whole meeting going to be how I handled things?"

Yamamoto nodded "Some of the captains were displeased at your decision to let Tier go."

"Such as?"

"Me."

Dante then turned to the voice and saw none other than Byakuya Kuchiki. Dante grunted "You got something to say cherry blossom?"

Byakuya's gaze grew harder but he kept control of his emotions "Your decision to let the Espada retreat was foolish and reckless. You let a threat to the soul society escape."

"Well sorry for not wanting a town a couple miles out to find itself at the bottom of a new ocean if we went all out."

"So in turn you let a threat escape, a threat that will come back to the soul society and attack us again?"

Dante sighed "Do you want to be the one to tell any survivors why their town became the new sunken city? Besides, she won't be around for a while. That hole in her shoulder is going to take a while to close up."

Rose then jumped in "You do realize that she said she was going to come back and kill you right?"

Dante waved him off "That was her pride talking. She didn't want to admit she lost and had to run away. People like that always say stuff like that when they lose, like 'I'll get you next time gadget!'" Dante sighed when he saw that no one got that reference. "Look, my options were limited at the time but everyone pulled through in the end. Besides, my job is to protect people from hollows, not to put them in harm's way."

Kenpachi scoffed "What a crock of shit. Your job is to fight hollows, rush in and rip their hearts out."

"No that's YOUR job, not mine. And you do your job badly since you run around like a headless chicken until the fights over."

A fire ignited in Kenpachi's eye "You want to say that again?"

Dante grinned as he replied "You heard me jingle bells." Dante resisted laughing at the menacing glare he was receiving from the man that would make any wise person think twice before mocking. Both stared at each other, as the other captains looked on, bodies alert if a fight would break out.

Any tension as quelled when Ukitake started to clear his throat before he spoke "I don't think there would be any problem with Tier in the future. As a matter of opinion, I think Dante's actions might have quelled any problems with Hueco Mundo for the foreseeable future."

Byakuya arched an eyebrow when he heard that "What makes you think so Ukitake?"

"Well it would be safe to assume that Tier is now the leader of Hueco Mundo considering all of the Espadas that were above her are all now dead. During that fight she was protective of her underlings, especially the Adjuchas. Do any of you remember what she said when the Adjuchas retreated back to Hueco Mundo?"

All nodded as they recalled those words from the film.

Ukitake then asked "Do you think she would let any underlings come here, knowing that they may come across Dante?"

Sajin Komamura sighed "I suppose not. I remember Hitsugaya-Taichou telling me that she wanted to avenge her Fracción."

Soifon then thought out loud "Still there is our image to consider. In the wake of the winter war, the central 46 has been constantly trying to wield more power over us. Toshiro's defeat might have given them another way to do so."

Shunsui then rebutted "But our image is fine. The only casualties in that fight were from the hollows side. And while Toshiro might have lost due to a cheap move, he still proved himself in the winter war. You're also forgetting that Dante was able to beat her with ease and made her run away. I doubt she would run if she fought any of us. Even if she was in face with Yamaji, she would have fought on till her death. If Dante was powerful enough to make her run away, then that helps our image."

"But Dante is untrustworthy. I'll doubt they will bring that into consideration."

"I think disputes like this are more hurtful to our image" Everyone turned to Unohana as she spoke "We barely pulled through the war with Aizen. While we all survived we were outplayed at every turn. We fell into Aizen's plan, like pawns on a board. The thing that saved us from defeat was the help of an Orange hair substitute Shinigami." Retsu looked down at the floor "But he sacrificed most that we couldn't part with in order for us to win; He sacrificed his powers. We can't call for his help anymore."

Unohana looked back up and turned at Yamamoto "What we have to do is what we always done; continue on as the guardians of the soul society and the world of the living. We won't be able to do this if we bring others under scrutiny for fulfilling such duty."

The council went silent. Yamamoto brought his hand up and started to stroke his flowing white beard. He seemed deep in thought, deciding on the words he wanted to say. Then he stopped looked right at Dante and for the first time since he tested the man, opened his eyes as he stared at the captain in question.

Yamamoto then spoke "One question Dante. If you were in a position where the two of you could fight without harming anyone else, what would you do?"

For the first time anyone saw him Dante gave the old man a serious look "After what she did to Momo… Let's just say that the Arrancar would be even closer to extinction."

No one said anything after those words. They just stared at the man with the red Haori. Yamamoto's eyes once closed and he continued stroking his beard. Everyone else was in deep though, wondering what would happen to Tier if Dante released his strange power.

Yamamoto finally broke the silence "I find that Dante acted responsibly" he ignored the glare from Byakuya "This matter is now closed. You are all dismissed."

The captains around him reacted differently at Yamamoto's decision. Byakuya and Soifon showed disapproval, while Shunsui and Ukitake had a small smile from the outcome. The others nodded in agreement a different range of emotions taking place.

* * *

Dante was the first to leave, as he pushed open the large doors and walked right out of the first division barracks. When he was back on the streets he leaned against one of the many walls. Silence hung, the only things around him being his thoughts.

If there was ever a sign to tell Dante that he was unsuited for being a captain this week was the surest. His subordinates challenged him at the concept of letting an enemy go. His fellow captains distrusted and doubted him at every turn. He was barely able to save his lieutenant from death. As typical with his rotten luck, the cards were against him at every turn.

He still didn't understand why he was even requested to take this job. There must have been far better candidates than him. Even though Shinji refused, they could have asked Love. Yet Yamamoto insisted that Dante take the position.

Thinking back on that Day none of what happened really made any sense. It was the first couple of weeks that he was in the soul society. When he woke up after he died, he found himself in nothing but rags, gripping Rebellion in his right hand. Dante started to wander all over the place. He walked from town to town; each person giving him odd looks as he passed. He would travel through the forests, constantly in battle with hollows drawn to his dark energy.

He was walking through the mountains after a fight with a swarm of hollows when he came across Retsu Unohana. The face she made she made when she first gazed on Dante was one of pure shock. But there was something more in her face, a hint of familiarity even though that made no sense. That look quickly disappeared and soon came that terrifying smile as she told him to follow her.

Next thing he knew, he was brought forward to old man Yamamoto in a secluded area. Yamamoto's eyes opened when he saw Dante and gave that same face. Next thing he knew, Dante was clashing blades with the old man. Yamamoto immediately released Shikai when they fought, and used everything he could to bring Dante down. He remembered the pillars of fire and the raging inferno around him. The heat reminded Dante of that dreaded place he was sure to end up. Yet Dante persisted. He took everything that the old man gave and returned the favor tenfold.

Yamamoto was the one to end the fight. He resealed Ryūjin Jakka and conceded the match. Dante was told that this was a test. And before he knew it Yamamoto offered him the position of captain for division 5. Dante was against it at first, but that venomously sweet voice of Retsu made him accept.

He still didn't understand any of it. He still didn't get what they saw in him.

"Dante?"

Dante's thoughts were shattered as turned and saw Retsu Unohana. A smile crept as he waved to her "Hey Retsu."

Unohana walked right towards him concern in her voice "Is everything alright?"

"Yep, nothing to worry about."

Retsu didn't buy his words "Is it about the meeting?"

Dante's smirk fell. He remained silent for a while until he finally said "I'm not cut out or this."

"Cut out for what?"

"For this, being a captain."

Retsu put a hand on Dante's shoulder "You're better off than you realize."

Dante scoffed "How so? Everybody trusts me as far as they could throw me."

"There are people who trust you Dante."

"Like who?"

"Me for one, sotaichou for second. He would have never offered you the position if he didn't feel that you weren't fit for the task."

Dante stared at the 4th division captain "Why do you two trust me so much? First time we meet, your eyes practically bulge out of your head. Then you take me to the old man and he looks like he's about to have a stroke. Next thing I know I'm trying to fight a wildfire like a park ranger, and then I'm here. You two act like you known me before any of this."

"That is because we knew of you before you died Dante. Me and sotaichou know what you are, what you have accomplished. And most importantly we knew your father."

Dante's eyes widened at her words 'They knew?'

"Did you know that Yamamoto tried to accomplish your father's greatest feat?"

Dante immediately knew what she meant. The only thing that came to mind was _Him_.

"Yamamoto failed. He was barely able to escape with his broken body." Unohana's face darkened "That… _thing_ attacked the soul society, as a means to invade the human world."

Unohana's features then softened as she continued "But he was stopped, by your father. Both fought each other to a standstill until they eventually left." Unohana looked at the sky "Century's later we heard the outcome of their war, that your father defeated _him_."

Unohana looked at the ground "Then we heard nothing about him for two millennia's only learning of his passing a couple decades ago. Then twenty years ago we heard that _he_ returned ready to attack the world of the living once more. Both me and Yamamoto discussed what to do in such a situation, only to learn that we were too late."

She then lifted her head and turned to a wide eyed Dante "We learned _he_ was dead, killed by your hand. Then we learnt about you, and heard the rumors that you surpassed your father."

Dante just stared at the woman; the tale took a while to sink in. They knew his father? They knew _him_? Not only that but they knew of Dante's fight with _him_ as well?

Dante then sighed "So that's were that flicker of recognition came from."

Unohana nodded "Yes. When Yamamoto tested you, it wasn't only to test your power. It was to test your character. That was his way to see if the legend was true." Unohana smiled "It turns out they were. If you didn't have the character you have, Yamamoto wouldn't even have considered giving you the position of captain. The fact that he has, shown that he has placed his faith in you."

She took her hand off his shoulder "So don't worry, you are fit for your role. Don't worry what the others say. They will accept you in time."

Dante said nothing at first. Instead he looked at the ground thinking. He started to feel relieved that at the faith these two put in him. And once again that smile appeared on his face.

His lifted as he turned to Unohana "Thanks Retsu."

She said nothing. She only nodded with a gentle smile.

The sound of a creaking door and footsteps drew Dante and Unohana's attention to the gate. Out of barracks stepped Ukitake and Shunsui. Both cut their own conversation off when they saw the two captains to their side.

Shunsui waved towards the two as he spoke "Hey Dante, Me and Ukitake were going to get a drink. You want to come and celebrate the meeting?"

Dante then chuckled as he kicked off the wall "Actually yeah. I need a drink after everything that's happened." He then walked towards the two of them passing Unohana.

"Don't forget what I said." Unohana spoke.

Dante said nothing. He simply gave a wave behind his back before he slung his arms around Shunsui and Ukitake's shoulders. Retsu smiled as the three walked off.


	8. Chapter 8

"Who the hell writes this crap?"

Dante was currently sitting alone in his office, legs on his desk. His eyes were currently fixated on the newest issue of Seireitei Communication. Currently he was reading an article Written by Kensei's lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi, which was focused on teaching people how to play the guitar. As he read the article his irritation grew more.

"He isn't even fit to be in a Russian rock band with the advice he's giving. What makes him think he's fit to be a teacher?"

Dante groaned before flipping more pages and skipping the article altogether. He continued to flip through the pages until there was a sudden stop. Dante flipped a few back until he saw the thing that caught his eye.

In the gossip section there was an entire article written about him. Numerous stills accompanied the page of his fight with Tier and her Fracción. The highlights were him on the Gillians nose's, him riding the the Adjuchas, and him standing over Tier with the hole in her shoulder.

A month passed since that fight, yet that was the only thing that people talked about. Somehow the video leaked and almost everybody in the Sereitei watched his dance with the golden shark. The amount of looks he received now was almost double. He heard whispers behind his back from the other division's, speculating what would happen if he went all out. Others claimed that Dante wasn't even human.

While still thinking of whispers, Dante's mind wandered onto his division. Those four days when Momo was in intensive care, the rest of the division couldn't look him in the eye after his lecture. Then when the video of the fight was leaked, they were the first ones to watch it. The insults pretty much stopped after that. They were still weary of their captain, but he must have finally earned their acceptance when he fulfilled his promise and saved Momo.

Dante then started to think about his Lieutenant. She was doing a lot better, While she was still in the recovery period, she was no longer in the coordinated relief station. She was back at the division headquarters, resuming her duties. Any physical work and activity was forbidden but she could still help out with the office.

It wasn't just that she was better physically however. Her attitude changed. From what he heard from her friends, Momo was going back to her old self, being more open with her friends, especially Toshiro. Both made up after that and started to hang out more, as if nothing happened between them.

Momo was turning to be a big help. She started to divide the paperwork into manageable chunks for him and her. With her help, both were able to get through the paperwork before it was due. She still could be cranky when Dante didn't do his fast enough, but she didn't hit him with the broom.

In fact she found a new way to make Dante hurry with the paper work, his poor luck at cards. Dante grimaced as he remembered her asking him to teach her how to play poker. He thought it was an innocent request at the time, never seeing the purpose behind it. He thought she would be bad at the game. Now he wasn't sure whether she was a prodigy or his luck was really that bad. Every single time they played, he'd lost to her. Every time they played it was for a favor, whether to do her share of the work or do something for her friends.

Dante sighed as he flipped the page "I'm going to strangle whoever told her about my-"

Dante stopped his train of thought when he heard the door slide open. Looking at the open door, He saw Toshiro. He was sitting in a wheelchair one of his legs sticking out as it was completely covered in a cast. Other than that though he looked fine; his outfit covered the bandages that showed his still healing wounds.

He seemed to be anxious however. He was biting his lip, and his eyes were downcast. When Toshiro wheeled himself in, he said nothing. The only noise that was in the room was that of the door closing.

It was silent for a few seconds until Dante decided to break it "Hey Toshiro. How've you been?"

Toshiro's anxious look was replaced by one of irritation "How many times do I have to tell you that it's Hitsugaya-TAICHOU?"

Dante snickered "Calm down kid. You'll hurt yourself if you get angry."

"I've told you, I'm not a kid!"

"Kids always say that when they want to act like they're big."

"GRHWAAAAAHHH!"

Toshiro let out a loud howl, a vein visibly showing in his forehead. This just caused Dante to laugh out loud.

Dante had to catch his breath before he spoke "Hey calm down. I'm just messing."

Toshiro looked down to the ground sighed heavily. A few seconds passed as he forced himself to calm down. When his fit was over, he looked back at the captain that annoyed him as much as Matsumoto.

Dante was the first to ask "So is there a reason for your visit?"

Toshiro's face adopted that hesitant look again, as he looked back down to the ground. A certain amount of color left his face. Dante looked at the division 10 captain, and could see slight movement. It was extremely subtle, but Toshiro was shaking. Dante could guess that Toshiro was nervous, most likely having that knotted gut feeling. However, what he was nervous about was anybody's guess.

Dante's face shifted slightly to show concern "Alright Toshiro what's the matter? Did you and Momo get into a fight or something?"

Toshiro said nothing. Instead he shook his head as he stared at the floor. This time Dante didn't bother to respond. He figured that Toshiro would tell him when he's ready. Until then he needs to collect himself.

Moments passed, until Toshiro finally took a deep breath and looked at Dante "Do you have any relatives in the world of the living?"

Dante arched an eyebrow at that question "Where did that come from?" He sighed a little bit when he saw a glare from Toshiro, directed at him "I don't know. There's someone that maybe is related to me and is still alive. Other than that no, everyone else is dead."

It was only slightly, but Toshiro's eyes widened "Does that mean that heir here in the soul society?"

The question made him feel uneasy. That was the first question in his mind the minute that he learned where he was. All those long days wandering from district to district in the Rukongai was trying to find the answer to that very question. But he always turned up blank.

Dante quickly saw Toshiro staring at him before shaking himself from his thoughts and answering "I don't know. I was looking for them, but… I don't know."

Dante watched Toshiro's reaction carefully. Toshiro's eyes fell again, as he sighed. There was a brief glimmer of hurt in his eyes. It was as if he was hanging on to some hope only for it to be dashed.

Dante sighed as he decided to break the kid out of his mood "So, you're going to tell me why that question came up?"

Toshiro said nothing. He only took short breaths as he looked to the ground. His entire body was stiff; the only movement from him was the breathing in his chest and the subtle shaking that became more visible. He clutched his hands on his head, as he tried to force himself to take deep breaths. It almost seemed like he was fighting through a panic attack.

Dante was about to get up, worried about Toshiro. The words that filled the air stopped him.

"I've been having these dreams..."

Dante said nothing as he listened to Toshiro, who he looked back up and continue "No that's not what they are. They're…" Toshiro stopped and shook his head "I don't know what to call them. Maybe they're visions, or memories."

"Memories?"

"Yeah… they come to me when I sleep."

"Your own memories before you died?"

Toshiro nodded "Yeah, but I have been having this memory keep occurring that's... not my own?"

Dante's eyebrow arched "Not your own?"

"It was only a few blurry images at first. Then last night it was like I was there."

"Then why isn't it your own memory."

"Because, no one paid any attention to me. And the place I was… well there were things in it that I never saw when I was alive."

"Such as?"

"You."

Dante became confused but said nothing as Toshiro continued.

"You were there. You were referred to directly by name. You were pretty young but there was no mistaking that it was you."

This confused Dante even more. Since when has the kid been having dreams about him? Honestly it made no sense. At first Dante figure that it was some kind of joke. But after seeing the way Toshiro was acting, it made him doubt that. Either Toshiro was a really good actor or he was dead serious.

Dante then sighed before replying "All right Kid, I'll bite. Exactly what was it that you saw?"

Toshiro looked at Dante, completely ignoring the 'kid 'remark. He hesitated for a minute, but then he took a deep breath and started on his long tale.

"It went like this…"

* * *

Toshiro slowly opened his eyes to find that he was no longer in his bed. He was staring down at the floor. It wasn't the wooden floor of his room; it was a dark marble like floor. Toshiro could hear the rain falling all around him until it crashed onto his back.

The rain fall made a puddle right where he was standing. Toshiro stared into the puddle as it acted as a mirror. Toshiro was in shock when he looked at the reflection in front of him. In front of him was not the captain of division 10 but instead was the scared little boy who awoke in the soul society for the first time.

In fear Toshiro yanked his head away from the watery mirror. His eyes met the new location and immediately widened.

Toshiro was on what must have been the top of a long circular tower. One could say that it reached for the heavens as it over shadowed a long destroyed city. Two circles of statues where on its edge. The first circle of statues was of long humanoid figures. Their faces were disfigured and skeletal like. They were bound in robes, and had a collar of spikes attached to their neck.

The second circle was of creatures Toshiro could never comprehend. Long serpent like, they grabbed and wrapped their bodies around numerous poles that stood right before the columns that grabbed the tower as they jutted down the sides.

The rain crashed down yet Toshiro could still hear footsteps to his left. Turning he saw a figure walking up the single set of stairs.

His eyes widened when he realized who it was. It was Dante. He was much younger, but that face was unmistakable. His white hair fell down covering his bangs yet somehow you could still see them. He wore a red leather coat, open to show his bare chest. That familiar sword was on his back, while he spun that silver gun in his hand.

Toshiro tried calling out to the young Dante, he opened his mouth to speak, he was greeted with silence. No matter how hard he tried Toshiro couldn't mutter out any sound, even a tiny whimper. Quickly a voice stopped his attempts.

"You showed up."

Toshiro turned to his right when he heard those words. The voice was cold and deep, but at the same time it was nostalgic and familiar. Toshiro couldn't hide his shock when he saw the other man. The man wore a long blue coat with golden embroidery. In his hand was a long katana with a white hilt. It was in a black sheath and a long piece of golden fabric hung from its side.

His back was to Dante but he slowly turned. Toshiro's heart skipped a beat. The man had the same face as Dante; both would be unidentifiable from each other, if it were not for the coat that the man wore and his different hairstyle. The hairstyle was completely identical to Toshiro's, spiked uniformly in the back while a single strand falls over an eye.

This man felt familiar in a way. Not in the sense that he looked like Dante. Toshiro could have sworn that he met this man before, yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

Toshiro then quickly turned to Dante. He continued walking towards the man, only to spin his gun stop halfway. Dante pointed at the man with his gun quickly before his hand fell back to the ground.

Dante then started to pace slightly as he spoke "You sure know how to throw a party. No food no drinks…" Dante then lifted his shoulders in a shrugging motion "And the only babe just left."

Dante's doppelganger smirked as he responded "My sincerest apology brother. I was so eager to see you I couldn't concentrate on preparations for the bash."

Dante turned his back on his brother only to turn right back at him while shrugging. "Whatever, at any rate, its ben a whole year since we last met. How about a kiss from your little brother?"

Dante stepped forward and started to spin Ivory and places it at the side of his pelvis "Or better yet, how about a kiss from THIS!" As he said that he brought Ivory and pointed it right at his brother.

Silence stood as both didn't move a muscle. Dante continued to point Ivory at his brother while he just stood gripping his sheathed sword in one hand. The rain poured, and purple flashes of lightning filled the sky, as it was symbolic of the struggle about to take place.

Dante was first to break the silence, voice oozing with sarcasm "So this is what they call a heartwarming family reunion, eh?"

His brother didn't respond at first. His head lowered as his thumb was pressed onto the tsuba of his sword.

He then simply replied "You got that right." As he pressed on the tsuba, breaking the seal of sword and sheath as it showed only a little of the man's blade.

Dante's gun bellowed in a loud noise that rivaled the thunder above when the first shot was fired. In shunpo like speeds, his brother disappeared in a blue blur, the bullet passing through the empty that once surrounded the elder brother. The doppelganger appeared right in front of Dante, taking him off guard with a cold expression on his face.

Dante quickly grabbed onto Rebellion and brought the sword down in a large swinging motion, enough to cut his brother in half. But his brother was quicker. In a fluid motion he brought his right arm in a swing. The move seemed reckless, like the man was seeking dismemberment. Yet when fist and sword met the impossible happened. A large clang filled the air, and Dante's blow was stopped. He was knocked back a few inches from the blow, visibly staggered from the move.

His brother gave him no time to react. Sword still in sheath, the man gave two swipes to Dante's torso. Both attacks caught Dante in the ribs. The impact from the wooden scabbard was enough that Toshiro could have sworn that he heard Dante's ribs breaking. Dante's brother wasn't finished. Pulling the sheathed sword back to his side, He quickly grabbed the hilt and swung the sword in a horizontal strike. The move was so fast a trail followed soon after.

Dante was barely able to recover as he dodged to the right of his brother, just when the blade was about to make contact. He then lunged at his brother sword in front as he tried to pierce the blue coated man. His brother quickly sheathed his sword and with another swipe with the scabbard, he knocked rebellion to the side. As he went for another swipe Dante swerved out of the way on the balls of his feet, launching another strike of his own. His brother remarkably did the same thing before grabbing his hilt and preforming another draw cut.

Dante disappeared in a red blur, the strike missing him by an inch. When he reappeared, he was right above his brother. Grabbing Ebony and Ivory, he pointed both guns down as he spun in the air. A volley of fire rained down as Dante spun like a screw. But it was of no use. When Dante landed he saw that his brother already teleported a foot away.

Sheathed sword at his side, the man lunged at his brother. The speed was fast enough that a blur trailed him like dust trails a car on a long dirt road. As he neared his brother, the man drew his sword. Instead of one trail like the last time a dozen followed, each one a separate cut that would mutilate through a hundred men. Dante was barely able to jump out of the way.

At this time both were near one of the many stone statues. When Dante's brother preformed his attack, his sword connected with the statue. A large clang was heard as his sword went right through. A visible cut formed on the statue separating it in two halves. The top half slid before falling off the tower. The surface of the bottom half was smooth, as if it was glass.

While descending, Dante brought his sword down in another chopping fashion, only to be knocked aside by another swinging hand. While Dante was dazed in the air, his brother followed up with an upward vertical slash followed by a downward chop.

As the strike came, Dante brought his hands up in a martial arts type of guard. One hand covered his head and chest while the other covered his mid-section. As both strikes connected, a bright flash was seen. Both blows stopped and slid off like they hit an invisible barrier.

Dante landed and struck out at his brother, only for his sword to meet air once again. His brother reappeared at the edge of the tower. This time his sword glowed a deep violet as purple lighting flashed across the sheath.

Dante's brother immediately put the sword to his side, entering an Iado stance. With quick succession Dante's brother did something rather odd. He drew his sword only to quickly sheath it once more, repeating the same motion continuously.

However Dante's eyes widened when he saw this attack. That similar sword trail came, this time shaped like a long prism as it reached towards Dante. Then right where Dante stood appeared four orbs of energy filled with the same dark violet that just covered his brother's sword. Then that visible sword trail cut through each orb like a crescent.

Dante quickly brought his hands up in that guard once again, blocking each of the attacks. One orb missed him and appeared right behind Dante's back, on one of the statues. The trail appeared and the statue was destroyed into a hundred pieces.

Dante was about to charge at his brother. Only to find that He repeated the same move yet again. Four violet orbs appeared right where Dante was. This time Dante jumped over them as they slashed and disappeared, only to find that another four was in the air with him.

Dante conjured a red platform, this time on the vertical axis, parallel to his back. Then with one foot, he kicked off the platform and dashed towards his brother, barely missing the orbs.

Dante dashed through the air until he was right above his brother ready to slice him in two as he brought Rebellion down. Rebellion bounced off, and Dante was pushed back. When he landed Dante looked at what stopped the blow.

His brother was encapsulated in a large violet orb which was strong enough to defend from Rebellion. While in the orb, Dante's brother twirled his sword until finally placing it at his side. As he did, a ring of six blades circled him like the rings of Neptune. These swords glowed blue and were translucent, as if they were more ethereal than physical. These summoned swords spun around the man like a buzz saw

The blue coated brother disappeared, only to reappear right in front of Dante. Dante instinctively dashed back, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blue blades. As soon as he stopped, his brother was right back on him with another swing. Dante jumped out of the way only for his brother to teleport right next to him in the air.

This would continue for a while. Dante would dash and dodge and disappear from the man in the blue coat. He had no way to get into Distance without being cut by those ethereal swords. And his brother would not let up on the pressure. He would quickly appear right next to his brother and launch another volley of attacks. Mostly he would teleport in speeds that rivaled the the goddess of flash's shunpo.

And as the battle raged on, Toshiro watched in both awe and fear. He saw the fight between Dante and Tier. He knew how powerful that man was. Yet he was being cornered by his brother, the man in blue. Dante's brother clearly outclassed him this fight. Not once did Dante get a hit on him during the fight so far, and so early on did he receive two bone shattering blows to his ribs. All through the fight Dante's brother never changed his expression. His face remained cold and uncaring as he pressured his little brother, rivaling the cold expression given by the head Kuchiki. The fight was completely one sided

Even more terrifying for Toshiro was that himself starting to root for the blue coat man. He didn't know why but when those two hits connected, Toshiro almost smiled. He had a sense of satisfaction when Dante was being pressured and running for his life. When he realized his bias towards the older brother, Toshiro froze in fear. While Dante annoyed him he didn't want the man to die. So why did he feel elated when the older brother was the one winning?

After another strike and another dodge, the older brother disappeared, giving Dante room for a quick breath. When he reappeared a few feet away, the summon swords changed. They moved from encircling the man to arching over his head. And in a few seconds they flew towards Dante, one after the other in sequence, moving with the same terrifying speed of a bala.

Dante had no time to move. Yet for some reason he grinned, as if he figured something out. Swinging rebellion upwards, he let go of the grip. Somehow it didn't fly away. Rebellion stayed in Dante's hand as it was stretched in front of him. The blade began to spin in his hand, like the blades of a helicopter.

The summon swords clashed with the spinning rebellion. As each ethereal blade connected, they shattered as if they were the most fragile of glass. Numerous shards flew everywhere, until they dissolved in the air.

When the final blade shattered, Dante lunged at his brother. Rebellion was poised in front of him, like the stinger of a hornet. The elder brother paid no heed, as that violet orb surrounded him again. Just as Dante was about to connect, another ring of summon swords circled his brother.

But Dante had great control, for he stopped his lunge just an inch before rebellion hit violet surface. Dante then stabbed rebellion forward and withdrew it, before repeating the same motion over and over. Each stab sped up until the speed was almost blinding, leaving an after trail of quick stabs too many for the eye to see. If an unfortunate soul ever was victim to this attack, he would have looked as if he were stabbed a million times.

Each stab connected with the ring of swords, shattering them once more. While his brother was still in the orb, Dante jumped forward in the air and spun in a 180 degree spin, leaving his back to the blue coat man and his foot to his face.

The orb dissolved and the kick connected. For the first time during the fight Dante was able to get a hit in on his brother, launching him a couple of feet away.

Both stood still and glared at each other, taking deep breaths as the rain pelted them. On the side, Toshiro watched these two brothers fight like arch enemies.

Then something caught Toshiro's eye. During the fight, the rain caused the older brother's hair to fall down, in the exact same style as Dante's. They looked identical, almost as if they were clones. If there was any doubt in Toshiro that the two men before him were brothers, it was now quickly destroyed as looking at both was like looking at a mirror.

Both smiled at each other as they glared. Each smile dripped sadistic venom. They glared and grinned while catching their breath.

It was Dante who sprang into motion first. Rebellion dragged along the ground as Dante charged at his brother, leaving a trail of sparks. As Dante reached his brother, he swung upwards, as his brother swung down. The blades clanged, and rebellion knocked the other sword away. Dante went for a downward swing but missed. He then twirled his sword before attempting to stab the blue coat man.

Dante's brother however was too quick, and recovered easily. With a slide slash he deflected rebellion easily. Then the blue coat man did something unheard of. He let go of his sword. As it fell he quickly grabbed onto it again, this time in a reverse grip. With a quick jab, the pommel of his sword collided with Dante's gut, sending him flying. In the air Dante retaliated with a slash, but his brother easily blocked it.

Dante continued to fly until he crashed into a statue dust kicking up from the collision. Dante fell to his feet and with fluidity drew ivory, firing seven bullets at his brother.

The elder brother started to spin his sword in a helicopter style fashion. The bullets stopped as they hit the steel barrier. When all bullets stopped their journey, The elder brother stopped spinning his sword before dragging it across the ground in front of him. In a line appeared the bullets that Dante fired, pristine and undamaged. With a sudden upward strike the blue coat man flung them back at Dante. The force of the strike caused the bullets to fly with the same speed when they were shot. The bullets reached Dante as they formed a vertical line. As they drew closer, raised rebellion and swung it down. The sword cleaved through them, cutting each bullet in half. The halves flew past Dante, causing miniature explosions as they kicked up dust far behind him.

Dante was on his knees panting heavily, trying to catch his breath. As he caught his breath he Used Rebellion as support to push himself off from the ground.

His brother glared at him as he did this and shouted "Why do you refuse to Gain power?" As Dante stood up he continued "The power of our father Sparda?"

Dante scoffed "Father?" He then chuckled in a mocking manner "I don't have a father." Another chuckle escaped "I just don't like you that's all."

Both brothers glared at each other, before charging. Each committed a downward cut, and both blades repelled off each other. Dante lashed out with a strike, only to have it be intercepted by one of his brothers. Both lashed out with a flurry of strikes. Each one deflected and followed through by another attack.

As the two attacked they were oblivious to the rain. Each blow sliced through the droplets, suspending them in midair. None of the thousands of raindrops could pass through the flurry of blows casted from the brothers. They were held with an invisible tarp. The brothers continued there flurry and with two downward strikes, their swords locked in place. The tarp was pulled, and the rain fell down like a sheet of water.

As the two blades were locked in a bind, the brothers sneered as they tried to force their way through. Sparks flew from the blades. A bright orange glow formed where the blades connected. The metal glowed bright red from the friction, like a comet that entered the atmosphere.

A sudden upward movement sent one of the swords flying. The flying sword was Rebellion. Rebellion spun in the air, and just before it stuck in the ground, you could see in the blade, the reflection of Dante being stabbed.

Thunder cracked as the blue coat man's sword pierced Dante through the stomach. A geyser of blood flew from the wound, as it dropped on the floor and stuck to the blade like tar.

Dante winced in pain as he grabbed the blade, and his brother looked at him mockingly.

"Foolishness Dante…" Dante's brother pushed the sword in deeper, causing the little brother to almost squat and groan in pain. "…Foolishness. Might controls everything. And without strength you cannot protect anything." The blue coated brother grabbed Dante making him stand before he finished "Let alone yourself."

With the quick push, the elder brother ripped his sword from Dante's gut. The sudden action caused Dante to start falling. As he did the silver amulet he wears, fell making itself visible on Dante's chest. In a fluid motion, Dante's brother grabbed the amulet and ripped from neck. Dante instinctively reached out, trying to grab the memento. He was met with a cold strike from his brother's sword.

Dante's descent ended as he crashed into the ground. The still rain kicked up all around him, before finally falling back down. The blue coat man paid no attention to his bloodied brother. He simply raised the amulet he stole up to his face, staring at the fire jewel in the middle. Then he covered it with his fist as he brought it to his face.

There was a brief hint of remembrance in the man's face. That look quickly subsided. The closed fist fist became an open palm, and with one swift motion, he swept his hand over his hair. His hair was reshaped to the style he wore before the fight. It was only then did he look down at his brother with a look of pity, before turning his back and walking away, grabbing rebellion as he continued.

And as the stranger walked, Toshiro watched in horror. Gone now was that sense of bias towards the elder brother. Now there was only terror at the sight he caused, at how he murdered his brother.

The groans broke Toshiro from his gaze, and shockingly enough he saw life stir in Dante's body. Fingers twitched. His head rose. He tried to push himself up from the cold ground. And in an instant the elder brother turned and charged. With no hesitation he stabbed rebellion into Dante, pinning him to the ground. Any stirs of life stopped. Dante laid there lifeless as his body was now the sheath for his own sword.

"Do you finally have it?"

The new voice caused both Toshiro and the elder brother to turn at the source. Behind Dante's brother appeared another man taller than the brothers, wearing what seemed to be priest robes, and holding a book in one hand. He looked like a corpse as his skin was bleak grey. He was bald, almost as bald as Ikkaku.

The most startling features of this man were of his face. He had heterochromatic eyes, one blue the other brown. He also had the strangest affliction on his face. At first it looked like a burn, but then it looked like a dark taint. It shifted and pulsated as the man stared at the elder brother.

The blue coat man turned to him and in a face of recognition replied "Yes! Now the seal Sparda cast will be broken!"

Both walked past each other, Dante's brother to the stairs, the burned man to the Dante's corpse. The burned man held his book close to his chest as he looked down at the bloodied and lifeless Dante. There was no expression in his face. Instead there was only apathy, a sense of nonchalance at the gruesome death. And with no expression, he too turned around, leaving the dead brother on top of the tower, the only companion to the dead man being the rain.

Or so they would have thought.

Before the two could leave, a bright light covered rebellion. Half a second later the light faded, and the sword changed. The hilt turned into a more monstrous visage. A pillar of water then erupted, shooting the sword into the sky.

And out of the pillar of water came Dante, charging at his brother in blinding speeds. His fists were raised ready to pummel the older to death. The elder was faster however, and as he turned he unsheathed his sword for Dante's hand to charge right in. The elder brother was only knocked back slightly, and he smiled as he saw Dante's hand mangled and bloodied with the elder's sword sticking out.

Coldly the brother mocked "I see a devil inside you has awakened as well."

Dante said nothing. He only glared at his brother as the bloodied hand started to move. He shifted and twisted his mangled hand, blood spurting out. And then somehow, his hand was no longer pierced by the sword. Instead he had the blade gripped within his palm. With a grunt he threw the sword and the brother holding it.

In the air the elder brother recovered, doing a flip before landing. When his feet touched the tower, he immediately turned towards Dante ready to draw his sword and charge.

"Wait" the words from the burned man stopped the elder brother in his tracks, before quickly turning to meet his mismatched eyes. "We should leave. For the moment we have all that we need."

The blue coat man's hand left the hilt of his sword as he stood up from his stance. Without any care he stared at Dante.

Dante slowly and groggily walked towards the the two. His balance was off and it seemed like he would keel over any minute. His blue eyes glared at the two, but it was halfhearted. there was a sense of weariness in his eyes, as if he was not really there. A heavy glow surrounded Dante. It would disappear then reappear, as if it was on cue with the beating of his heart.

The two stared at Dante, until his brother moved. With a no caring look, he walked to the edge of the tower and jumped off. The other man stared, and for the first time, his apathetic look left. A smile crept on his lips that oozed sadism. He then turned his back on Dante, walking to the same edge that the blue coat man jumped off of, before jumping off himself.

Toshiro stared at the glowing Dante as he continued to walk. Many things raced through Toshiro's mind. Who were these people? What did they want? Why did the the two brothers fight? But the main thought was how did Dante survive?

Dante reached the center of the ground before he started to pant. The once white glow then shifted to crimson as Dante winced and panted even harder. Then both arms shot out to his sides, and his head looked to the weeping sky. A blood curdling scream left Dante's mouth. White rings, containing symbols left Dante's body. Numerous other rings of white covered him like the violet orb covered his brother, before disappearing. A blinding light covered Dante, as it tried to escape in the form of beams.

When the light left Toshiro looked in horror at what happened. Before him was not Dante but some horrible twisted creature. Once where his coat was, were now scaly red wings. Once where his hair was were now, white horns. Quickly the creature disappeared and Dante appeared once more, before falling on the ground strength completely leaving him.

Then all faded to black.

* * *

Toshiro sighed before finishing "That's where the dream ends. I wake up shortly afterwards."

Any control over his emotions left Dante as he quickly pieced together the story he was just told by Toshiro. His face was one of absolute shot, eyes widened as he sat still.

Dante mentally asked 'He saw all of that?'

That was one of the worst experiences for Dante. He remembered that whole night vividly. He could still feel the steel in his stomach or the burning pain as he screamed into the night. Only he knew of that experience. But the captain in front of him saw the entire thing in his sleep?

Dante felt Toshiro's eyes on him as his concentration shattered. He sighed before answering "Well your right. That was one of my… unpleasant memories."

Toshiro's eyes widened as he looked at Dante "So… all of that really happened"

"Yeah…" another sigh escaped Dante's lips "That was a fight between me and my brother-"

"Vergil."

Dante stared at Toshiro when the shorter captain finished the others sentence. Dante's eyes widened once again.

Dante gave a brief chuckle trying to lighten the mood "Funny. I don't remember my brother's name being dropped during all of that."

Toshiro looked at the side unable to look at Dante anymore "It… wasn't."

Dante felt a shiver in his spine when he heard those words. All that raced in his mind was how did Toshiro know that name? Did he another dream that had another fight between the two brothers, or was it something else altogether. The numerous possibilities rushed through Dante's mind.

Then they all stopped, as Dante looked at Toshiro. It dawned on him why Toshiro looked nervous. He had that look like a kid who was going to confess that he did something naughty. He looked guilty. Dante realized what that meant. He was hiding something.

A feeling of irritation crept into Dante as he was fed up and shouted "Then how the hell do you know his name?!"

Toshiro almost jumped at Dante's shout, but he still looked away, Moments passed as Toshiro took deep breaths. The shaking resumed, and there were visible goosebumps on Toshiro's arms.

Then a final Deep breath was taken and Toshiro looked Dante straight in the eye as he answered

"Vergil… is my Father."

* * *

 **Yes, cliffhangers suck. I know. But this chapter has already been dragging on long enough. I don't like how these chapters now go over ten pages as I feel it's too long to read.**

 **Anyways, until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: This is a pretty dry chapter as almost all of it is Dialogue. But it needed to be made.**

* * *

Dante felt all of the anger leaving him, being quickly replaced by shock. His eyes widened. All of the color left his face as it became as white as his hair. He stared at Toshiro, but at the same time he looked passed him, as if Toshiro was there and not there at the same time. It seemed like he didn't know where he was. Toshiro's words dazed him, like they were a fist that sucker punched his jaw.

Dante shook himself out of his daze before asking "Would you mind repeating that?"

Toshiro sighed as he repeated "Vergil is my father."

Dante was about to go back into a stupor but fought it as he had more questions "You're… Vergil's kid?"

"Yes."

"So that would make me-"

"My uncle."

Dante soon lost all feeling in his body. His body was covered by the familiar sensation of numbness. He lost awareness of his surroundings, completely occupied by only one thought.

'Vergil had a kid?'

The same thought hammered in his head repeatedly. Vergil had a son. It seemed so surreal to him. Vergil was the last person that Dante would ever have suspected in getting married.

Yet at the same time Toshiro was so similar to him in many ways. He looked like Vergil, from the same styled haircut to the same piercing eyes, even if they were of a different color. His face adopted that same cold scowl that Vergil wore. Toshiro reminded Dante of his older brother in many ways. The first thing he thought when he saw Toshiro was that Vergil was reincarnated into a little kid.

Dante stopped and focused on that first encounter with Toshiro. He first saw Toshiro when he was at his inauguration for captain. Toshiro never said anything to Dante. Instead he only stared at him for the entire time. There were numerous different emotions across Toshiro's face during that time. For the most part it was confusion, but then it started to slowly change into a slight hint of recognition, then shock. He then started to look paler than usual, and was the first to leave the room when the whole event was finished.

Then a tough struck Dante like lightning as he looked straight at Toshiro, his voice low and barely audible.

"You knew?" When he saw Toshiro's eyes widened, anger crept into him as he sat properly, leaned forward towards Toshiro, and shouted once again "You knew right from when we first met?! And you didn't even tell me?!"

It was Toshiro's turn to shout in anger "I didn't know!"

"So I that look of recognition on your face meant nothing huh?"

Toshiro started to twitch in anger as he responded "Contrary to what you make think Dante, I couldn't remember what happened!"

Dante's anger faded as he remembered. Most souls lose their memories when they pass into the soul society. It is considered a way to help them move on with their lives. Only the strongest of souls are able to remember what happened during their life. That was the reason why he asked if the memories Toshiro was receiving were before he died. Yet that meeting gave him other thoughts.

Dante propped his legs up and leaned back yet again. He then sighed "So you weren't one of the exceptions."

Toshiro shook his head "No I wasn't. I had no recollection of what happened when I was alive before that day I saw you." Toshiro ran his hand through his hair "The moment I saw you there was a weird feeling of familiarity that I never felt before. It was like I knew you from somewhere."

"But you really didn't. It was Vergil who you were thinking of?"

"…Yeah. I kept trying to figure figure out where I saw you before. Then an Image of him came into mind, with the same hairstyle like mine and the same cold scowl plastered on his face. I didn't really know who it was at the time, but I felt sick."

"Was that the night you started to have the dreams?"

"Yeah… In my sleep the memories came back. First, they were hazy patches but as time went on, they became crystal clear." Toshiro took a deep breath "Then after I remembered, I had visions of that fight between you two."

It was taking Dante a lot of time to get a grip on everything that he was told. The information hung in his head like steel beams. However he shook them off as asked something important.

"Was the fight on the tower the only thing that you saw between me and Vergil?"

"Yes."

Dante pinched his nose as an awkward silence hung in the room. He was still wrestling with the news he was given, that Toshiro saw one of his unpleasant memories, that Vergil had a kid, that he was an uncle. It was too much revealed all at once. The fact that he was an uncle still surprised him. He never thought that Vergil would ever be able to woo a woman let alone get one to bear his children. He was always so cold towards people and then quickly grew to hate them. He remembered the first time they reunited after being separated for so long. Vergil changed. Yet here is Toshiro, a spitting image of Vergil.

"So…" Dante awkwardly forced out "Who's the mother?"

Toshiro looked down at the ground "…I don't know."

"Don't know?"

"I never met her. She died shortly after I was born. Fa- Vergil raised me by himself for the first couple of years."

Dante took a good long look that his nephew. He looked like he missed those days. Vergil must have left a big impact on the kid when he was alive. It was sad to see Toshiro like this. And at the same time, it was relatable. Dante knew what Toshiro was feeling.

Dante then sighed as he tried to get Toshiro out of his daze "So, how was it like living with him?"

"It was…good. We spent the first years travelling from place to place. Vergil homeschooled as we wandered aimlessly." A sad smile crept on Toshiro's lips "He was always kind of cold when it came to me. I thought that he despised me those first few years."

"Vergil was always like that. I can tell you right now that you had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah… I realized that later. There was this time that we stopped at a rest station. I went to talk to these kids because I never really played with children when we were travelling. They were picking on me because of my hair. I ignored it first because I was told to avoid trouble. But then…" Toshiro took a deep sigh "Then one of them brought up my mother. I got really angry and punched the kid in the face. He then tackled me and we got into a fight."

Dante chuckled "I'm guessing you came out on top."

"Yeah, I was bruised and bleeding though. The kid's father started to shout at me and before I even knew I was on the floor with a stinging feeling in my face. Then Ver-"

"It's all right Toshiro. You can call him dad"

Toshiro raised his head and looked at Dante straight in the eyes. Dante stared back a small grin on his face. Toshiro smiled a little as he continued.

"Father came in and broke the man's arm. The man was screaming wildly." Toshiro looked down at the ground again "Father then looked down at me while I was on the ground and lifted me up. I first thought that he was mad at me so I started to squirm. But he then hugged me tightly and told me that I did well."

Toshiro slowly chuckled "That was the first Time I can remember being truly happy, knowing that he didn't hate me. After that I learned how to pick up his true moods, when he was angry, when he was disappointed, and… when he was happy."

There was silence in the room after that. Dante stared at his nephew. There was a hint of longing in the way that he told that story. It was obvious that the kid missed him. Dante felt cold when he realized that. Thanks to him, Toshiro might never reunite with his father.

Dante then shook himself out of his Daze as he asked "So… How did you die?"

Toshiro said nothing at first. His face showed a little bit of fear. But then there was a sigh, He regained composure and stared right at Dante as he then continued his story.

"A while later we ended up at some town. I don't remember the name. It was an island town, on the sea. Everybody dressed funny there."

"How so?"

"They all wore hoods. It was like you were expected to hide your face we first arrived, the people stared at us, like we were criminals. They didn't like outsiders. Both father and I had to buy hooded cloaks to fit in."

As Dante listened in on the story, he felt a sense of Déjà vu. There was something strangely familiar about the way he described the place, but he didn't know why. He decided to press for details.

"Do you know anything else about that place?"

Toshiro was silent. He seemed to be in deep thought as he scoured his memory for any more information. Then his eyes widened only a little.

"That name, 'Sparda', the one from the vision. It was constantly said there at the town. It was used along another word, 'savior'. I think they worshipped whatever it was" Something else clicked in Toshiro's brain as he continued "There was a chapel in the center of town. They had a statue of the supposed Sparda. It reached to the roof and was made of marble. The face seemed human enough but it had two horns jutting from each side. Its hands were resting on the pommel of a sword as the tip was resting in the ground."

That was more than enough information for Dante. He knew exactly where the place was. However he pushed it aside as he continued the conversation.

"So what happened then?"

A small smile crept onto Toshiro's lips again "We settled down in that town. And Father met her." He gave a look that had a hint of sadness "It's funny. I can remember everything about her looks, from her red hair, to her rosy cheeks, even her blue eyes. Yet I cannot remember her name." He chuckled "She and father fell in love instantly. Thinking back on it, they were so different. Father was cold, but she… she was so warm, so comforting. Even though I wasn't related to her, she treated me like I was her son. I remember being so happy then. It felt like a real family."

Toshiro looked to the ground. "She soon became pregnant. I remember being really being really happy when I heard that I was going to be a big brother. Before I knew it, she was at the hospital going into labor. I remember seeing my little brother, grinning as I shook his tiny hand and rubbed his mop of white hair."

Silence then resumed as Toshiro stared at Dante worried. Dante felt thee blood leave his face. His eyes widened even more, and His Jaw dropped. Dante just stared into space. A single incomplete thought kept hammering into his mind.

'That means he was…'

Dante then saw Toshiro's gaze. It was enough to pull him out of his thoughts. For some reason he felt guilty when Toshiro looked at him worried. He quickly grunted as he asked

"So what was your brother's name?"

Toshiro looked down at the ground. A deep expression of melancholy on his face "I don't know. Father and she couldn't agree with a name at the hospital. It was something the kept arguing about. In fact it was one of the few times I saw fathers mask break a little as he got angry." He sighed before continuing "A few weeks later Father was gone, conducting whatever business that he usually committed. My step mother decided to take me and the baby to the beach. It was late at night when we went; I remember being told it would be easier on my brother's eyes if we did. I remember playing in the cold sand as the moon shone on the lake. She was watching while holding my infant brother… That's when _they_ came."

Toshiro stopped speaking. A deep breath filled his lungs as he forced himself to continue "I can't explain what they were. When the memory resurfaced I thought that they were hollows, but they were devoid of the holes. They were monstrous beasts. Their eyes showed nothing but bloodlust. I can't describe anything else about them. It's just too much to remember." He paused and took another breath before resuming "My step mother was cut down first, almost completely in half. My brother fell out of her arms crying. They then turned their gazes on him and started to circle him and..."

Toshiro moved his head to the side "I remember running to him. The only thought in my mind was to pick him up and escape. As soon as I got near him, those… _things…_ They stopped in their tracks and turned to me. Before I knew it, they were running at me. Afterwards I blacked out."

Toshiro lifted his head and stared right at Dante "When I came to, father was hovering over me. His mask completely broke and he stared at me in pure terror. I blacked out again." Toshiro sighed "That was my last memory of when I was alive. When I woke, I was in the soul society."

Dante sat, trying to comprehend the tale that he was just told. There was sadness in hearing what happened to his nephew. His thoughts then drifted to Vergil. He wondered what his brother thought when he saw his son and bride dead. It would have been too much for any man.

That's when everything clicked with Dante. When the answer he asked for so long finally was answered. He then realized why Vergil seemed so different that time they reunited.

Dante stopped thinking when he saw Toshiro stare at him. He looked like he was expecting something.

Toshiro spoke again "I answered your questions. I want answers myself."

Dante wanted to tell the boy off but stopped himself. It was then that everything really hit him. He was an Uncle. Toshiro was blood. He went on for so long without knowing anything about his lineage. He deserved to know.

Dante sighed "Alright… What do you want to know?"

"What happened after that encounter? What happened to my father? Who is this Sparda? What did you transform into at the end? What-"

"Whoa there" Dante cut him off "One question at a time…" He took a deep breath "Alright let's start at the beginning. Is that alright?" Dante continued when he saw Toshiro nod "Alright let me ask a question. You know of hell right?"

Toshiro nodded "Of course."

"What do you know about it?"

"That it is where sinners are sent to after they die."

"Well Hell is occupied not only by the souls of the damned, but also those of demons."

"Demons?"

"Monsters, Jailers of hell, the ones who torture the sinful for all eternity. The old stories say that they were angels casted from heaven for rebelling against god. What the truth is, I don't know. They range from power and intelligence. You have the lesser demons, primitive intelligence, but rather strong in ability. Then you have the greater demons, sentient creatures that are brimming in power."

"How powerful?"

"They rival the Vasto Lorde. Some might even surpass Aizen in terms of power."

That answer shocked Toshiro to the bone. He seemed frozen as his mouth was wide open from his reaction. However a chilling thought went through his head. He quickly pulled through and asked

"Hueco Mundo had a king. The soul society has a king. Does hell have a king as well?"

"It does." Dante's expression shifted. A hint of anger was visible in his voice "Or it's better to say it did. He was incredibly powerful, enough to change hell on a whim and create demons with only a thought."

This startled Toshiro but a single question broke into his mind "Why are you telling me this?"

Dante sighed, as he realized he was beating around the bush "2,000 years ago... there was a war between hell and earth. The demon king invaded earth and tried to subjugate the world. But he was stopped."

"Stopped?"

"One demon alone, a knight of hell, rose up and fought his own kind for the sake of humanity. His power was so great he was able to defeat his former lord and seal hell away from earth."

Toshiro was awed by the tale but asked the same question "Why are you telling me this Dante? What does this have to do with you?"

Dante looked hesitant but fought through his emotions "The knights name… was Sparda."

Toshiro's eyes widened at that "The same Sparda that the town worshipped?"

"The same."

Toshiro sat in silence. It seemed like a weird coincidence, and he still didn't know what it had to do with him. But then he froze. He felt cold, a strange sensation for the wielder of the most powerful Ice Zanpakuto. Words rang in his head, words in that vision he received, words from his father Vergil.

 _"The power of our father Sparda"_

Toshiro then forced out "You don't mean-"

"Sparda is my father. He met a woman named Eva. Shortly afterwards, me and Vergil were born."

Dante carefully eyed Toshiro. The tables turned on the two. It was now Toshiro who paled. He was the one who now looked like he was sucker punched, and looked at and through Dante at the same time, just like Dante did a few moments ago.

Toshiro was only able to mutter "So…You're…A demon?"

"Are you asking me, or yourself?" Dante saw Toshiro flinch at that and immediately understood what he meant. Toshiro was starting to think that he was a monster. Dante sighed as he continued "Toshiro I'm more human than demon. My mother was a human."

"Then…What does that make me?"

"Even less of a demon than me. You probably only have a quarter of Sparda's blood in your veins."

There was doubt, uncertainty, in Toshiro's eyes mixed in with confusion "Did father have any Reiryoku?"

"No"

"Then why do I have the power of a Shinigami?"

"I'm thinking one of two options. Either your birth mother was a human high in spiritual energy, or she was a Shinigami herself."

Dante carefully watched Toshiro. His eyes still showed doubt, mixed with a tinge of despair. He was still in shock of what he was just told. He was still unsure of what he was.

Dante sighed "Have you ever cried Toshiro?"

Toshiro broke from his daze and gave a slight glare at Dante "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Please just answer the question."

"Sure I've cried. Who hasn't?"

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Dante watched as Toshiro became confused "Devils never cry. Tears are a gift that only humans have. So you have nothing to worry about Toshiro. You're not a monster."

The look in Toshiro's eyes changed. Any look of despair left as quickly as it appeared. There was still shock but it was far less than before. Silence filled the room again, not oppressive or awkward like the previous absences of sound. Toshiro then focused on Dante and began to speak.

"Why didn't you tell anyone this?"

"Take that up with Unohana and Old Man Yamamoto. They wanted to keep my lineage under wraps."

Toshiro seemed surprised "They know?"

"Yep, apparently they knew my father and also knew about me before I died. That's the reason wanted me as a captain."

Toshiro was silent again for little while. He seemed in deep thought. Then the sudden Image of Dante's transformation pierced his mind. He was about to speak stopped. He seemed hesitant before he finally opened his mouth

"That thing you turned into, at the end of the memory, what was that?"

"That was when I my blood awoken, when I got my devil trigger."

"Devil Trigger?"

"It's… hard to explain. Basically it's when my demonic blood kicks in. My body changes into… that."

"What does it do?"

"Makes me faster anger stronger, Powers up my attacks, heals my wounds instantly although I can do that outside of devil trigger. Stuff like that."

There was silence again. Toshiro looked away before looking back at him "Do you think I have a devil trigger?"

"Most likely you do."

Toshiro instantly changed. His eyes shot up. His face contorted to an expression of eagerness. He seemed far more energetic as he started to speak, a subtle hint of excitement in his voice

"Can you teach me?"

"What?"

"Teach me how to awaken my demonic blood, to unlock my devil trigger. Can you do it?"

Dante seemed surprised at Toshiro's request and slightly unnerved "Sorry kid, I can't."

Toshiro's face fell "Why not?"

"Toshiro, unlocking your devil trigger isn't something that is taught. You saw how my demonic blood was awakened."

"What do you mean?"

"It was awakened when Vergil stabbed me with my own sword."

Toshiro's face became white at that information. Dante paid no mind as he continued

"I almost died back then. I'm not willing to stab you with Hyōrinmaru to see if you can DT."

"There has to be another way."

"If there is I don't know about it."

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!"

Dante carefully eyed Toshiro. Determination showed in his eyes. But there was something else there. Dante couldn't pin point it, but it felt all too familiar. And for whatever reason, it unsettled Dante. No… unsettled is the wrong word. The look in Toshiro's eyes disturbed Dante.

Dante asked cautiously "Why are you so dead set to unlock your Devil Trigger?"

Toshiro broke away from Dante's gaze. Any eagerness was replaced with hesitation as he was only able to mutter out a couple of words.

"I need to get stronger"

"Toshiro you're already strong. They don't hand out the captain position for nothing."

Toshiro turned back at Dante, His voice raising as he spoke "But I'm not! I couldn't even fight against Aizen!"

"You weren't the only one. Not even Old Man Yamamoto could fight against him."

"That's not it!" Toshiro looked to the ceiling "I was too easily enthralled by his Shikai! Because of my weakness, I…" He stopped for a minute, looking as if he was pained to speak the next words "Because of my weakness… I almost killed Momo!"

He then lowered his head back to Dante and gave a glare of pure determination "I can't let that happen again! I won't allow it to happen! I can't stay weak anymore!"

Toshiro's voice rose even higher as he shouted at Dante

"I NEED MORE POWER!"

Toshiro stopped and froze. And immediate sense of guilt and regret flooded over him as he looked at his uncle. Dante gave a look of absolute horror. His skin paled to a complexion as white as his hair. His eyes were wide as globes showing a deep sense of pain. Those four words wounded him greater than any sword. A few seconds passed, and Toshiro didn't know whether he should say something. He was quickly pulled out of the thought by Dante's voice.

"Toshiro…"

Toshiro's eyes widened as he looked at his uncle. Dante was now sitting properly again, leaning towards the small captain. Any look of horror was gone from his face. His eyes narrowed into a rigid glare, and his mouth formed a hard frown. Toshiro started to squirm as he was under Dante's glare, a feeling of nervousness creeping on him.

Dante spoke, his voice completely serious as if he was lecturing Toshiro "You are walking down a dangerous road, one that will kill you if you continue down it."

"But-"

Dante cut him off "Your father walked down that road. And it led to his ruin."

Dante watched carefully as Toshiro's face shifted to one of hurt and confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Dante was silent for a moment. Then he sighed as he leaned back in the chair, not kicking his feet up this time. His thoughts drifted back to the tale that Toshiro told. He thought of the sense of familiarity the ending brought; it had felt strangely similar to the Son of Sparda. With his hand on the desk, he started to speak.

"We… went through something a lot like what happened to you. When I was young, Sparda… my father, left the family. My mother wouldn't tell us what happened to him. It wasn't until years later I learned that he died."

Dante then looked away "Then years later…" He paused before continuing "Demons attacked our house. They were sent by the demon king Mundus, who wanted to remove any potential threat from his plans. Me and Vergil… we tried to fight them off, but we were too young and way over our heads. And our Mother… "

There was a long silence. Dante didn't speak. Instead he closed his eyes and was still like he was turned to stone. Toshiro kept quiet, not even daring to pester Dante into speaking. He waited patiently for his uncle to continue his story.

Time passed for what seemed like ages until Dante finally continued "Our mother was killed before our eyes." He opened his eyes and gave a soft sight "Me and Vergil finally ran away from the scene. When we got far enough away we saw our house burnt to the ground."

Dante then got lost in his thoughts as he was pulled back to that scene. He remembered the smell of burning timber assaulting his nose, the heavy smoke stinging his eyes and filling his lungs as he coughed violently. He remembered the fire roaring around him and Vergil, climbing up to the roof as if it was a Chimney and the house one big hearth, the fire singing him with burns that would heal only a few seconds later. He remembered the walls shifting and changing, rippling like water as the demons willed themselves into their home.

And he remembered his mother. He remembered her long golden hair, and luscious blue eyes. Both he and Vergil were shoved by her away to the door, burning debris falling and blocking the two from coming towards her. The Demons crept behind her, ready to sink their fangs into her.

But most of all, Dante remembered his mother's face in those last few moments. Not even paying heed to the beasts behind her she looked on at her two boys. The face that was contorted in distress was now gone. What was in its stead was a sight that Dante loved. It was her smile, a smile that the angels would try to steal out of envy, a smile that always filled Dante with glee. That was the last time he ever saw that smile, and the last time he heard her voice, in that soothing calm tone as if she was singing a nursery rhyme to her boys.

 _"Don't worry. It will be ok."_

Dante relived that horrible sight. His mother turned her back to the twins, facing her murderers. When she turned the demons leapt into the air like beasts ready to pounce on their prey. Just as the demons fangs were about to close on her neck, the fires rose in front of the twins, blinding him from the sight. There were no noises from their mother on the other side of the fire, no screams or groans, just a crunching and squirting sound, the sound of jaws crunching bones and chomping on flesh.

Dante immediately snapped out of the memory and started to frantically look around, trying to confirm that he wasn't really back there. His eyes then met Toshiro. He was looking at Dante, obviously worried about him and probably wondering the red coated Taichou went quiet, yet he stayed still and silent, patiently waiting for Dante to continue.

Dante then sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. That memory was still as vivid and real as the first time he witnessed it. The memory used to haunt his dreams for a time so long that Dante can't really remember. Sooner or later it lost its grip on his dreams but it still remained in his mind, easily remembered on a moment's whim. That memory was burned into his mind, the only burn that stayed with him that night.

Dante pulled his hand from his face as he continued "Me and Vergil traveled together for a while. It was brief though, it seemed like it was only for a few months. Then one day I woke to Vergil missing. I searched near and far for him, but it was too late. He left like our father."

Dante then took his gaze to his right "We met up again, much later. However when we did…" Dante stopped and his eyes glazed over for only a second before he refocused "Vergil was different."

Toshiro broke his silence "How so?"

"He… was obsessed with obtaining our fathers power. He wanted to cast aside his humanity and become a full demon. As you know he was always kind of cold but when we met again… it was on a new level. He was like ice."

Dante pulled his head back before resuming "I always wondered why he changed like that. I could never find an answer on my own. But now I know. Our reunion must have happened shortly after what happened to you."

Dante lowered his head towards Toshiro and watched him carefully. Toshiro's face shifted. He gave a look of sadness with a touch of hurt.

Toshiro muttered "What happened after that?"

"He attacked me, and we got into a fight."

"Why?"

Dante put his thumb to his neck. His thumb went down to his chest and into his clothes. He then pulled out that Amulet that Toshiro watched his father take in the vision. Dante then started to speak

"He was after this. Vergil had one just like it, only that one was gold instead of silver."

"I saw that one when I was still alive. Father would look at it and put it to his head. He always looked sad when he saw it."

"Both were keepsakes from our mother. It's the only thing I have left of her, besides the picture on my desk."

Toshiro then looked at Dante curious "Is that why he was after it? Because it was a keepsake?"

Dante shook his head and pushed the amulet back into his clothes "Little did I know at the time that both amulets combined into one was the key to opening the gate that separated our world from the demons, and the key to unlocking Sparda's power. He wanted to open a portal to hell and claim our father's power that was trapped there."

Toshiro looked horrified at, but forced himself to ask "And after that?"

Dante looked away and took a deep breath "We were forced to separate yet again. We met a year later… at Tem-Ni-Gru."

"Tem-Ni-Gru?"

"That large tower that you saw in your vision. It's actually a tunnel between Earth and Hell. Vergil raised it with the help of Arkham, the other man that you saw in that vision. You remember?"

Toshiro nodded.

"I was 'invited' by Vergil to meet with him at the top of that tower. I got to the top and…" Dante sighed "You saw what happened."

"But it didn't end there."

"No… it didn't. I caught up with Vergil at the bottom of the tower, right where the seal was. We fought again." Dante looked away again "This time it was a tie. We both wore each other down, and that's when Arkham made his move." Dante took a deep breath before continuing "It turned out we were puppets on his strings. He wanted our father's power for himself. He manipulated us into fighting. Hell, he even manipulated his own daughter who came to kill him."

"Why?"

"There was a seal on the gate. In order to break the seal, you needed enough of Sparda's blood and the blood of a woman. Me and Vergil shed enough when we fought that second time, and before we knew it he he sliced up his own daughters leg."

"You couldn't fight him?"

"Not then. Both I and Vergil were too weak after fighting each other. He planned it that way so it would be a piece of cake for him to get dear old Dads power. Any opposition was swept away, as he broke the seal and ran into hell."

Dante took another breath "I caught up with Arkham in hell. By then he was changed into a demon. We fought for a little bit before Vergil caught up and joined in on the fight. For a few minutes, we were allies as we kicked Arkham's ass."

"Did you kill him?"

"No, but it wasn't due to a lack of trying. He was stripped of our Dad's power, and flung back to earth. His daughter was there waiting for him, and she put a bullet in his head."

"Your fight was far from over however…"

"Yeah…" Dante closed his eyes again. Now was the time that he dreaded most. He was sure that Toshiro would hate him after telling him this, but he deserved to know what happened to his father. Dante opened his eyes and continued to speak.

"After we defeated Arkham, the Amulet split. We grabbed each of our half. Shortly after, we found ourselves on the edge of both hell and earth, a waterfall over a black void. Vergil was still obsessed with obtaining Sparda's power. He demanded I gave him my half of the amulet, and we ended up fighting each other one more time."

Dante stared right at Toshiro, a sad yet serious expression etched on his face "He said those exact same words that you said to me only a few moments ago."

Toshiro paled as his face contorted to one of shock. As Dante looked at his nephew, his thoughts drifted back to that time. He remembered the edge vibrantly. The waterfall was still clear in his mind, flowing endlessly into the abyss below. Columns of twisted masonry rose from the ground like stalagmites as they held up a roof like a crude imitation of the Parthenon. Monoliths of stone, as twisted as the columns, were off two the sides of the waterfall. Off in the great distance, past the waterfall and above the abyss, was the portal to earth. It looked like a large burning eye, completely overshadowing the two as if it was the eye of god observing the brothers. Wisp's of ebony danced and twisted around the portal, like smoke in the air. Despite this The portal was the only source of illumination in that dreaded place, as it shone down rays that pierced the abyss like the rays of the sun that pierce the darkness of space.

And more vividly than the waterfall or the eye of god, Dante remembered seeing his brother. His back was turned to the void and the portal. Their father's sword was clenched in his right hand. Dante remembered how his brother brought his left hand up to his face, and slowly spoke those four dreaded dreaded words as he closed his hand into a tight fist.

 _"I NEED MORE POWER!"_

Dante was snapped out the memory by Toshiro's desperate question

"What Happened?"

Dante was silent for a moment, not knowing how to continue. He looked at Toshiro, carefully reading his expression and looking for changes as he replied.

"We fought and, somehow I won."

"You…" although it was obvious he dreaded what was coming, Toshiro struggled as he tried to continue "You killed him then?"

"No, I couldn't. Despite our differences, he was still my brother. But after the fight, he started walking towards the edge. I ran towards him and he put his sword to my throat. He said that he was staying in hell. And as soon as he said that, He fell off the ledge. I tried to grab him, but when I reached out…" Dante stopped. That moment left a wound on his heart that never healed. It only scarred over on the surface.

Dante then forced himself to finish "…When I reached out he sliced my hand. He then fell into the blackness and faded from my sight."

Toshiro looked horrified and forced out "So… He's trapped in hell?"

"No." Dante took in Toshiro's stunned face before he continued "I started working as a devil hunter and about a year later on a job, I came across him. But He was… changed, corrupted. He was a demon like he wished. I didn't even know it was him. He was completely unrecognizable and never spoke."

Dante forced himself to look at Toshiro as he finished the tale "He ended up attacking me. When I learned that it was him…" He took a deep breath "…It was after I killed him."

Dante then waited after finishing the tale. He waited for Toshiro's expression to change. He waited to see anger, disgust and loathing in his nephew's eyes. He expected Hatred for him, for what he did to the boy's father. Toshiro's expression changed, but that hatred Dante expected never came.

There was sadness in his, no doubt about it. But the stare also worry, not for himself but for Dante. He showed great concern for his uncle. It almost made Dante feel sick to his stomach.

Gently, Toshiro spoke three words "Was it hard?"

Dante knew what he meant and force out a somber reply "The hardest thing I've ever done."

There was a silence for a while. Dante and Toshiro broke their gazes from each other and looked away. Both were engaged in their own thoughts. The silence and the hold on their thoughts as Toshiro started to speak.

"If you killed him, then does that mean that he is in the Soul Society?" There was a hopeful tone in his voice, one that Dante felt bad to break.

"I don't know Toshiro. I've been asking that question since the day I've got here. Those first couple of weeks I was here, was spent searching for him and my mother. Even as captains I still have people searching for him but…I just don't know."

"And I'm like him." Toshiro's statement caused confusion to Dante as he looked to his nephew, whose eyes gazing on the floor. "Just like him, I want power, Even though that caused his downfall."

Dante became worried as his nephew finished. There was sadness in his voice, despair even at the thought of following down the same path.

Dante then forced out a reply "You're a lot like him, not only in looks but also in attitude. But Toshiro, just because you're his son doesn't mean you have to follow down the same road." Toshiro's gaze lifted and he looked at Dante. Dante smiled softly as he continued speaking.

"You're your own man Toshiro. You can take what road you want to. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get stronger but don't obsess over it. There is more to strength than just power."

Toshiro looked confused "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, you have to find that answer yourself. Just promise me you won't end up like Vergil."

Toshiro didn't say anything. He just gave a solemn nod, and looked away. Silence returned, and just stared at his nephew for a few moments. Then his face shifted, as if he just realized something. His hands went back into his Shihakushō. He pulled out an object obscured by his hand.

Dante then looked back at his nephew and yelled "Toshiro."

Toshiro's head snapped back towards Dante, just quickly enough to see something tossed towards him. Effortlessly, he caught it in one hand and put the object towards his face to see what it was. His eyes immediately widened at the sight.

It was his father's amulet, almost identical to Dante's, but made out of gold instead of silver.

Toshiro then stared at Dante wide eyed "Where did you get this?"

Dante grinned "I got it after that last fight with Vergil. I had to pull a favor to get it from earth after I died, as well with some other items."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"It was Vergil's not mine. And since he isn't here, I think it's only fair to entrust it to you. He probably would've wanted it like that. I would've given you his sword as well…" Dante's grin grew "but I already entrusted that to your brother."

Dante almost laughed as he watched Toshiro. He didn't react at first; his mind probably had a problem comprehending what he just heard. But when the information finally processed, it was such a sight. His eyes widened even more, and he almost shot out of his wheelchair.

Toshiro shouted "HE'S ALIVE?!"

"Alive and well."

"And you knew him?!"

"Remember that 'someone' that I thought was maybe related to me? After hearing your story, it turns out that that someone was your younger brother."

Toshiro tried to speak but started to trip all over his words. It was obvious that he had too much to ask. With a few short breaths he forced a question.

"What's his name?"

"Nero."

"How did you meet him?"

"We met when I was on a job in Fortuna, the town that you used to live."

A hint of recognition crept onto Toshiro's face as he continued "What's he like?"

"He's a punk for one, short tempered and foul mouthed. But he's also a good kid."

"Is he…" Toshiro felt hesitant to ask "Is he well?"

"He was last time I checked. He's even married now."

Toshiro's eyes widened after hearing that, before softening yet again. Silence came again, however it was not tense, awkward, or uncomfortable like the previous silences. Toshiro looked back at the golden amulet in his hand. A small smile then crept onto his face as he did so.

Toshiro looked back at Dante and smiled "Thanks… Dante"

Dante grinned on "Don't mention it. You're family."

Toshiro seemed caught off guard, but quickly that smile returned. Dante looked around his room, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. For the entire talk, he was almost completely serious, which wasn't like him. Then a mischievous grin crept on Dante's face as he decided to speak.

"Well, it's good that I shook you out of that mood Kid."

Instantly the smile faded from Toshiro's face as he glared at Dante and shouted "I told you, I'm not a kid!"

"If you're my nephew then you're a kid."

Toshiro's went slow seething in anger "Dante…"

Dante burst into laughter "Calm down Toshiro. I called Nero a kid as well and he's only an inch or two shorter than me."

Toshiro didn't soften his glare. Dante continued to laugh at the aggravation of nephew. Only a few seconds later, Toshiro's glare softened and turned into a mischievous grin.

Toshiro then spoke slowly "Anything you say… Old man."

Dante stopped laughing and glared at Toshiro "Hey!"

"What?" Toshiro's smirk grew "You're way older than me… uncle Dante"

Dante didn't respond. He only gave a "Tch" as he looked away, leaning back into his chair and planting his legs onto the desk yet again. Toshiro started to laugh. Seconds later into Toshiro's laughing, Dante gave a small grin, though he made sure to hide it from his nephew.

Seconds after the banter stopped, two sets of footsteps could be heard behind the door. Dante and Toshiro turned towards the door, and shortly they heard a voice call out the formers name. The doors slid opened, revealing Momo and Toshiro's busty bombshell of a lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto.

Momo shouted as she entered the room "Dante! Let's play a -" She stopped as she saw Toshiro in the room "Oh Shiro-Chan! I didn't know you were here."

Toshiro swiveled his wheel chair into the direction of the door, he looked annoyed as he replied with

"It's Hitsugaya –Taichou, bed wetter Momo."

Momo huffed, but did so without any main resentment. It was simple banter between them. Toshiro then looked Matsumoto and stared at her, with interrogating eyes. Matsumoto began to sweat As Toshiro glared at her accusingly.

Matsumoto began to stutter on her words as she spoke "D-don't worry Taichou! I-I got the p-paperwork done!" Rangiku grabbed Momo and placed the short girl in front of her "Momo helped me since it was her day off. We got through it together."

Toshiro continued to glare at her but moments later, much to his lieutenant's relief, it softened. He swiveled his wheel chair back to Dante and began to speak

"I have to get back to the office. Can we talk more about this later?"

Dante only nodded at his nephew, a small grin on his face as he looked towards his fellow captain. Toshiro found himself smirking as well. Toshiro then swiveled his wheel chair back towards the door. Momo and Rangiku made way for him as he left the room and continued to push the wheel chair down the hall.

Rangiku closed the Door and Momo and walked towards her captain. For some reason she seemed rather nervous.

Momo asked Dante "What was Toshiro here for?"

"Just to talk."

"About What?"

"Personal stuff" Dante watched as Momo looked dejected at his answer. "You worried that we might have been talking about you?"

Momo was caught off guard "Wha-?"

"Well, are you?"

"Umm" Momo looked away unable to answer.

Dante sighed as he spoke "Momo let me tell you right now, what we were talking about had nothing to do with you. It was about something else that was on Toshiro's mind."

Momo looked back at her captain "Are you sure?"

Dante smiled "Do you think I'm lying?"

Momo shook her head. The look of worry started to melt from her face and was replaced by one of relief. Dante gave a small grin as he put his hands behind his head started to speak.

"So why did you decide to bring a friend along?"

Momo then quickly recomposed herself. She then reached into her Shihakushō and pulled out something before walking closer to desk. Suddenly she slammed the object onto desk and lifted her hands from it, revealing a deck of cards.

Momo then shouted energetically "Let's play cards!"

Dante looked down to the deck before looking back up at Momo. He stared at her, scrutinizing every detail of her face. The stare was just as serious as the one that Toshiro gave Matsumoto before she left. However unlike Matsumoto, Momo didn't flinch.

Dante then sighed as he asked "All right, what's the deal this time?"

"What makes you think that there is a deal?"

"Momo…"

Momo started to chuckle "All right, we're having some problems at the SWA."

"What do you mean?"

"President Yachiru used all the money for sweets again."

"And you came to me why?"

Rangiku decided to respond this time "Well, we did a certain activity to raise money in the past. We took pictures of famous Shinigami. It worked so well last time; we decided that we could try it again."

"What's the catch?"

"What makes you think that there is one?" Rangiku froze when Dante stared at her "Well the best sellers were when the targets showed a little skin… so …"

"So you want me to model in something like a male fitness magazine." Dante took the silence from Rangiku as conformation. He then turned to Momo giving a deadpanned stare "Really?"

Momo smiled "Well that's only if you lose. If you win, I'll do your paper work for next month."

Dante's grunted at Momo's offer. Of course she was bringing out the big guns. She knew that he couldn't say no at that offer.

He quickly shook his head and he turned towards Rangiku before asking "Is she playing?"

"Yep."

"Well what is she going to do if I win?"

Rangiku gave a small wink as she decided to chime in "Well what do you want?" However she was then quickly off put when she saw a devilish smile from Dante.

Dante then turned back to Momo "All right, if you two win, Ill model. But if I win" He pointed at Momo "You'll do the paperwork," Then he pointed to Rangiku "And you'll give me your stash of booze."

Rangiku's eyes almost bulged out of her head when she heard that, but before she could say anything Momo slapped her hand on the desk and shouted

"Deal!"

Dante closed his eyes and sighed. This was probably going to backfire on him, but the rewards were too good to pass up. He silently cursed his gambling problem.

Dante opened his eyes and spoke "Well take a seat." The two quickly pulled up a chair in front of Dante's desk. Dante then planted his feet back on the ground and leaned forward towards the two. He looked to Rangiku and motioned her to the cards "Deal"

Rangiku nodded and shuffled the deck, and threw a hand of 5 cards to each player. Dante picked them up and smiled. It was a good hand. Maybe he would was actually win this time.

"All right" Dante stared at the two giving his best poker smile "Lets Rock!"

* * *

 **Time for a long ass authors note.**

 **It's been close to 5 months since I've updated this story. I've been writing this chapter on and off during the past few months due to: a) Working on another story titled Blackwatch (Which I updated the same time I've updated this story) and b) Lack of interest.**

 **This was a pain to write due to how much is here. When starting to write this, I felt bad about breaking it from the last chapter because it seemed like it was going to be short. Then it turned out to be even longer than the previous chapter at over 8,000 words (20 pages). This made me have an epiphany.**

 **These chapters are getting longer and longer. The chapter I just posted for my other story Blackwatch was topped off at over 10,000 words (around 25 pages). I wasn't really used to writing that much (In fact I never thought I could do it), so that made me feel like they were too long. But after going through these chapters, I realize that they go by rather quickly, and I'm liking a slower pace.**

 **So expect long chapters. I'll refrain from giving you a 90 page chapter, but these chapters will start to be rather wordy.**

 **Till next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

"So those are strawberry sundaes?"

Toshiro asked this as he looked at Momo, who apparently had two large sundaes in her hands, each with a spoon stuck in them. Toshiro pushed his wheelchair alongside Momo as they moved through the squad five barracks.

Momo nodded "Yes they are"

"Those are what your division has been selling recently?"

Momo nodded again "Well it was a shame for Dante to make the cooks learn how to make them only for them to be eaten by just him, so I had the idea for the division to start selling them, as well as that pizza. Both have been selling like crazy"

Toshiro sighed "Don't I know it. Matsumoto has been leaving towers of leftover pizza boxes in my office. She gets pizza whenever she starts drinking sake."

Momo chuckled at that "I heard from Renji that whenever he goes drinking with Ikkaku and Yumichika that they bring a couple of boxes when they go on a drinking spree. According to him it's the perfect drunk food."

"Hm. Does anybody you know eat Strawberry sundaes?"

"Yachiru does, although…" Momo shook her head "She has a habit of stealing them."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at that "Really? Why doesn't she just buy them?"

"I have no idea why. I hoped she would purchase them so if she spent all of the SWA's money on them, I could at least give the funds back. Then we wouldn't have to go through other means to get money."

Toshiro watched closely at Momo after she said that last sentence. He face shifted slightly and however faint it was she gave an emotion of guilt.

Toshiro spoke again "Is that why you're bringing the sundaes to him? Because of the poker game?"

Momo turned away slightly and Toshiro knew he hit the nail on the head. The result of the poker game between her, Matsumoto, and Dante, was a swift and brutal defeat for the captain. Never the less, he kept his word and modeled for the SWA. The pictures sold out almost as quickly as the ones they took of Captain Ukitake. In only two days, did the SWA regain the funds that Yachiru spent.

Toshiro scoffed "You didn't do anything wrong Momo. Dante shouldn't have agreed when he knows that he has horrible luck."

"I know but I still feel bad. Although he tried to hide it, I knew that he was angry through the whole thing. He has a really bad gambling problem. I feel like I'm taking advantage of him."

"Still that fool should get his problem in check before he ends up gambling the the funds of your whole division."

Momo shook her head "Oh no, that will never happen. I'm the one in charge when it comes to the expenses. I won't even let him look at the money we have stored up, so we won't have a problem when it comes to that." Momo then turned back to Toshiro and gave him a stern glare "and you shouldn't be calling your uncle names like that!"

Toshiro sighed at that. Somehow word got out that Dante was Toshiro's uncle, although anything related to Sparda or Demons still remained a secret. Toshiro was brought forth to both Captain Commander Yamamoto and Unohana. On the spot, Toshiro was forced into an oath of secrecy despite how unneeded it was. Even Toshiro knew it was wise to keep his mouth shut about the whole affair.

Toshiro then replied "I'll stop calling him things like fool when he decides to stop calling me kid"

"That's what older family does. Although…" Momo went silent for a moment "It's still hard to believe that Dante is your uncle."

"I know. I'm still getting adjusted to it."

"If it's alright to ask…" Momo hesitated for a minute "What was he like? Your father I mean"

Toshiro went silent for a minute, eyes looking up to the ceiling as he tried to find the right words to say "He was the polar opposite of Dante."

"Really? How so?"

"He was… cold. In terms of personality he was almost identical to Kuchiki-taichou."

Momo's eyes widened "Really? Was he like that with you?"

Toshiro nodded "He was, but I learned how to see what he was thinking early on. Despite that he really didn't show it, I knew that he cared for me."

"Do you miss him?"

A small sad smile adorned Toshiro's lips "A little…"

Momo didn't say anything after that. Both kept quiet as they walked down the hallway towards their destination. Moments passed and the two found themselves in front of the door to Dante's office.

As they were about to open the door, a bizarre sound could be heard from the other side. Toshiro's and Momo's eyebrows arched as they listened to the noise. It was the sound of singing, incoherent and slurring. The person singing had their voice crack repeatedly as they tried to go for the high notes.

Slightly perturbed but undeterred, Toshiro wheeled himself to the door and opened before entering, Momo following. Both pairs of eyes widened as they looked at the sight in front of them. Dante's office looked like a party that was wrecked by a storm. A mound of sake bottles could be seen in the corner while many more littered the floor. Pizza boxes were scattered all over the place as well. Looking at the desk, Toshiro and Momo saw that Dante was in his seat, legs rested upon the desk as usual, but this time a large pizza box engulfed his head like the maw of a beast.

The sing song sound filled the air yet again, and turning to the source, the two saw an even more disorderly sight. Sprawled out on the couch was Shunsui, now hatless and face beet red as rambled on a children's song through his drunken smile. His body shifted repeatedly on the couch trying to find a spot of comfort, and his head shook from left to right as he sang.

On what little space Shunsui left, Ukitake sat on the couch as well. He was far paler than normal with his mouth forming a grimace. The palm of his left hand rested on his left eye while the fingers clutched his scalp. His right eye showed heavy bags and a dark ring underneath. A cup of steaming tea was in his right hand. Ukitake brought the cup to his lips and took a sip of the bubbling drink while still clutching his forehead.

On the floor right in front of the couch, were Renji Arbarai, Izuru Kira, Shūhei Hisagi, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa. Each one bodied and twisted on the other like a game of twister from hell. Each one had their jaws wide open in horrific look that almost looked like a rictus grin. They were all paled and dark eyed. Ikkaku and Yumichika had the top of their Shihakushō's fall down to their knees, leaving a bare torso, while Renji , Izuru, and Shūhei were almost bare to the world except for their underwear. Renji also sported Shunsui's hat upon his head. It looked rather ridiculous as his ponytail crudely stuck out from behind.

And while looking at the scene in front of them, Toshiro and Momo stared with creeping inch of dread upon their backs as they unknowingly thought the same thing.

 _'What the hell happened here?'_

Ukitake was the first to see Toshiro and Momo and how despite how pained he looked; he still gave a small smile and a slight bow as he greeted the two with "Hello Hitsuga-taichou, Hinamori-fuku taichou"

The two bowed back in silence. An awkward silence filled the room. Toshiro and Momo were completely unsure what to say, unsure if to ask what happened as they were probably sure that they were better off not knowing.

Momo however hesitantly spoke up "Excuse me Ukitake-Taichou, but what happened?"

Ukitake was silent for a minute, but he eventually sighed and began to talk "From what I remember, me and Shunsui met up with Dante who seemed down, so Shunsui decided that the best way to cheer him up was to go get a drink."

Ukitake then looked at the pile of people below him as he continued "We then met up with those five, and before we knew it Ikkaku decided to challenge the whole group to a drinking contest." Ukitake then winched and the hand on his head started to move into slight motions in an attempt to message his head and vainly relieve him of his headache. "I don't remember much after that but…"

Ukitake's pale face turned a shade of green. His right hand dropped his tea cup and immediately went to his mouth while he forced the contents in his stomach to remain there. The teacup landed right on top of Ikkaku's hairless dome and the steaming liquid splattered all over him. There was no reaction from Ikkaku with the exception of a few slight twitches.

Watching the scene, both Momo and Toshiro had a certain look of disgust as they digested the information. Momo sighed while Toshiro shook his head. The new sound of shifting made Toshiro and Momo look back to the desk. Motion now stirred in Dante as he squirmed a little in his chair. One of his hands came upon the pizza box on top of his head. His hand slid on the surface of the pizza box in an attempt to clarify what was on his head. A moment later, the hand grasped the edge of the pizza box, and flung it from his face. The pizza box landed on top of Shunsui's head. Shunsui clutched it while he continued to sing in his flat tone.

With his face now bare to the office, Dante looked around the room. His eyes fell on Shunsui and Ukitake and then shortly after he looked down to the pile at their feet. A small chuckle came from him when seeing the state of those five. And then his eyes scouted around until the fell on Momo.

Dante then gave a small smile raised his hand in a wave and gave a greeting "Hey Momo."

Momo responded with "Hello Dante." Before walking up and placing the Sundaes on his desk "These are for you."

"You're a lifesaver." Dante then lifted his legs and place them on the ground as he started to sit properly. "I was getting hungry." Dante then grabbed one of sundaes, picked out the spoon and began to devour the treat at a quick pace.

Momo kept quiet for a while as Dante ate. The room would be silent if it wasn't for Shunsui's poor singing. Momo seemed hesitant to speak; she would open her mouth to talk only to then close it again.

With a sigh she finally spoke "Dante…" She waited for Dante to stop eating and look at her before she continued "I'm sorry for the poker game. I realize that I'm taking advantage of you by challenging you to a game to often. I promise that I'll stop."

Dante didn't say anything at first, only giving a soft stare at his lieutenant. Then his lips curved into a soft smile before he waved her off with the spoon in his hand and replied

"Don't worry about it. That's water under the bridge now."

Momo felt relief rush through her as she took a deep breath. Then she gave a small smile of her own.

A scoff then came from Toshiro "See Momo, I told you you shouldn't worry."

It was then when Dante finally looked at Toshiro. With a chuckle, Dante greeted him with "Hey there kid. I didn't see you there."

A Vein visible in his forehead, Toshiro lips curved into a nasty smile as he responded "Then maybe your age is getting to you… old man."

The chuckling ceased from Dante as he immediately glared at his nephew. A few moments later a 'tch' escaped his mouth as he looked away. There was rather prideful victorious look on Toshiro's face, as well a few giggles from Momo.

A chuckle came from Ukitake whose face was now no longer green and hands no longer on his mouth "You two get along well"

Dante then turned to Ukitake and shrugged "Were just having some family banter."

"It is still hard to believe that you two are related."

Dante gave a short heh "Trust me I'm still reeling over the fact that Vergil was even able to woo a woman."

"It's really that shocking?"

Dante turned away "Vergil was like a glacier. Him finding love is like the Cherry blossom getting a girl." Then he resumed eating one of his Sundaes.

"Well actually, Byakuya was married."

Dante almost spat out the sundae in his mouth, before he turned back to Ukitake "You're kidding."

"I'm not. It was quite a while ago."

"And it wasn't an arranged Marriage?"

"No. Her name was Hisana. She was Rukia's older sister."

Dante arched an eyebrow "But aren't Byakuya and Rukia brother and sister?"

Upon hearing that Ukitake shook his head frantically "Not like that, good heavens. They aren't related by blood. Hisana and Rukia were from the Rukongai, and were separated when Rukia was just an infant. Byakuya married Hisana and after she died of illness, Byakuya searched for Rukia. When Rukia was found, she was adopted into the Kuchiki family."

"So he pretty much found someone."

"Yes he did."

Dante finished the sundae, before sighing and pulling the other one in front of him "Typical, People like my bro and Byakuya are able to find love while I have rotten luck with women."

There was a collective chuckle from the three that were currently conscious besides Dante. Dante in turn started to eat the other sundae even quicker than the first. Momo always wondered how he was able to eat them so fast without being able to get brain freeze, but that was one of the many mysteries surrounding her captain.

There was a calmness in the air as Dante ate his sundae. And as he ate, Ukitake's eyes lit up a bit with curiosity, but also hesitation. Moments passed before he finally decided to speak.

"Uhm… Dante?" He waited for Dante to stop eating and look at him before he continued "If it's not too much trouble to ask, did your brother have the same power that you have?"

Dante scoffed "Not only did he, but he was an absolute powerhouse."

Ukitake's eyes widened "Really? More than you?"

"Yep, for a long time at least. Vergil was the king of cheap moves."

"I see."

There was silence between the four again as Dante resumed eating his sundae. Moments passed before the four heard the closing sound of frantic footsteps. Before long the Door slid open again, revealing Rukia Kuchiki eyes closed and grasping her knees as she tried desperately to catch her breath.

With a few deep breaths Rukia started to speak "Ukitake-Taichou," She then stood up and slowly opened her eyes before continuing "I've been looking for you everywhere and heard that you were here so…"

Her words died off as she finally gazed at the scene in front of her. First she looked at her Captain, then at Dante, then at Both Toshiro and Momo. Her eyes then darted to the pizza boxes, then the sake bottles, then the squirming Shunsui. Then lastly her eyes settled on the pile of nearly naked men, and more importantly her friend Renji.

Imminently her eyes widened and she shouted "What the hell happened here?!"

Toshiro shook his head sighed and answered for the group "You don't want to know."

Rukia nodded and remained awkwardly quiet for a while, only to be brought out of her thoughts by the throat clearing of Ukitake.

"Rukia?" he asked "What did you come here for?"

"Oh right" Rukia shook her head vigorously before starting "There was an emergency captains meeting called just a few moments ago."

Ukitake arched an eyebrow "Do you know what for?"

Rukia shook her head "No, but due to order, it sounded pretty urgent."

A sigh caused all conscious to look at Dante. With a few more spoonful's he finished the second sundae.

Dante sighed again with sarcasm dripping from his mouth "That's just great" Dante then plopped his feet down and stood up before walking to the two captains on the couch "Jūshirō help me with Shunsui. We'll sober him up as we go to the meeting."

Ukitake nodded as he stood up. Dante carefully stepped through the five currently unconscious as him and Ukitake scooped up the squirming Shunsui and placed his arms over the two's shoulders. The pizza box that he wore as a hat fell from his head and landed right on Izuru's face.

As Dante and Jūshirō carried the still singing Shunsui on their shoulders, Toshiro sighed and began to move as he said

"I'll be going with you three." He then turned to Momo "Well see each other again later ok?"

Momo nodded "Sure."

Toshiro was the first to leave the room. Dante and Jūshirō quickly followed soon after. Before they left however, Dante told Ukitake to stop. Dante then looked at the drunken pile by the couch before looking at Momo and Rukia.

"Those five are responsible for the mess in here." Dante spoke "So can you two make sure they clean up?"

Momo nodded "Don't worry. We'll make sure they pick up"

Dante sighed in relief before replying with "Thanks". Dante and Jūshirō dragged Shunsui out of the door before it slid shut.

* * *

Dante, Jūshirō, Shunsui, and Toshiro were currently waiting in the Captains council room. It took a while due to them having to sober Shunsui up, but they were able to get him to stop singing in a decent amount of time. The old man was in before them, as well as Unohana. Soifon, Komamura, Byakuya, and Kensei were already there as well.

When Dante entered the room, his eyes widened slightly as he looked at Soifon. Her arm was in a sling and she adorned some rather dark bruises on her face. Her left eye was blackened and bruised as a spoiled plum. Every time she breathed she would hiss in pain. Dante wasn't the only one that stared at her. The other captains there raised an eyebrow at her condition as well. Dante wondered if her condition was the reason for the meeting but he quickly pushed those thoughts to the back and decided to wait until the meeting started.

Thankfully the four weren't the last ones in the Council room. Rose came in four minutes after them. Mayuri came in 20 minutes after, claiming that his experiments mad him lose track of the time. Kenpachi came in nearly half an hour after them. Heavy bags were under his eyes as sported a grimace that made him look like he did some serious drinking himself.

Moments passed in tense silence after all of the captains finally assembled. Yamamoto carefully examined all of the captains. Each one was unnerved as they looked over by Yamamoto's closed eyes. Dante was the most unnerved however as he was examined for the longest. He was about to say something when Yamamoto turned his face away and then finally spoke.

"This captains meeting has officially started" Yamamoto then turned to Soifon "Would you begin Soifon?"

Soifon seemed hesitant but with a sigh she started to speak "A week ago members of the Onmitsukidō went to the human world to carry out a mission."

"Where in the human world was this mission?" Ukitake asked.

"Around the Tokyo area."

Komamura then inquired "What was the mission?"

"That's confidential"

Kensei grunted in annoyance "What do you mean confidential?"

Looking at the 9th division captain Soifon's eyes narrowed "I mean exactly how it sounded. The mission is confidential and you are to know none of it."

Kenpachi joined in hollering "Well your acting all high and mighty for someone that is black and blue. I'm guessing your whole division failed if we're here talking about it."

Soifon's eyes narrowed even more as she glared at Kenpachi. Her hands twitched as she spat out

"You…"

"Silence!" Yamamoto's shout caused the ground to shake and caused the other captains save Unohana to scramble to retain their footing. When all turned to him, Yamamoto continued "What mission she was on is irrelevant." He then turned back to Soifon "Continue Soifon."

Soifon took a deep breath before continuing "The members who went on the mission reported that it was a success and that they would be returning to base shortly. However hours passed and they didn't return. When we tried contacting them, there was no answer."

Toshiro then asked "What did you do?"

"I sent some more men to investigate. They didn't return nor call back to report their findings. We were unable to contact them as well. I then sent Ōmaeda to investigate and…"

Shunsui interjected "Let me guess, the same thing happened."

Soifon nodded "However I was able to get through his phone, but someone else answered"

Silence filled the room as the rest of the Gotei 13, save Yamamoto and Unohana, took their time to digest that information. Each had a look of intrigue as they began to wonder who this person was and why they had Ōmaeda's phone.

Rose then asked "What did this person sound like?"

Soifon replied "Well the voice was female."

This immediately caught Dante's attention as he asked "Did she sound like a babe?"

However instead of getting a reply from Soifon he was met with a growl from Kensei as he nearly shouted at Dante with

"Stop acting like a fool Dante! This is an important topic!"

Immediately Dante then turned to Kensei and glared "What made you think I was talking to you meathead?"

Kensei started to shake with visible rage and it seemed like he was about to explode, however before he could the room was then swept with another of Yamamoto's quaking shouts.

"FOOLS!" He shouted, nearly flooring the Gotei 13 "This is an important matter and you would do well to treat it so!" He waited for all to regain their balance before resuming "Resume Soifon"

However before she did so, Soifon took a long hard stare at Dante, looking over all of his features. Dante saw this and was unnerved. Soifon looked like she wanted to speak but stopped and slightly turned to her left to see Unohana giving that horrifying smile to her.

Shaking her head Soifon then resumed talking "The person on the other end gave me her location and 'invited' me to meet her. I arrived at the destination to find Ōmaeda and the other agents to be chained together. Each one was alive but beaten severely. "

Deciding to be a little more serious Dante asked "Do you even know why this person beat the crap out of your men?"

Soifon turned away "From the report that the first group gave me, after they completed their mission, they found her clapping and congratulating them on their appearance. She then started to ask them questions on who they were and if they were Shinigami."

That made Dante curious "So she didn't attack them at first?"

"No"

"Then what did your boys do?"

"They tried to silence her."

Dante arched an eyebrow "You're kidding me. Your guys attacked a bystander who didn't even throw a punch?"

Soifon turned back to Dante and glared at him "She was a witness. The Onmitsukidō do not leave witnesses as it could jeopardize them."

Dante scoffed "Yeah because people in the human word are going to believe someone who claims they saw flying ninjas."

"Even if that is true, she could have been a liability in the future."

"Liability" Dante scoffed again "It seems to me that she was just a bystander defending herself. There's a thing in the living world called self-defense."

Infuriated at his words Soifon nearly shouted "She wasn't a bystander you idiot! She was armed to the teeth and had strange powers no human should have! And the second group reported that she used the first group as a bait attempt before attempting a sneak attack!"

Dante rolled his eyes and looked away. For a minute there was a tense silence that loomed in the council. It was then broken when Ukitake asked

"So you confronted her?"

Soifon nodded "Yes, she was inviting me as if she was playing a game and judging by the state of my men, I deemed her a threat."

Kenpachi then spoke "Looking at you, it's obvious she won."

Soifon gave a hard glare at Kenpachi "She did not win. I forced her to retreat. I look like this because I was caught off guard. As I said she had strange powers and I was still sealed by the Gentei Reiin. If I was able to use my Shikai, I would not be so nearly bruised."

It was then that Mayuri finally spoke "Foolish girl. Your left arm has been regenerated only a few months ago and you're nowhere near top shape to fight."

Soifon then shifted her glare at Mayuri. He only gave a snarling smile that seemed both smug and terrifying on that harlequin like face.

"Soifon-taichou" Toshiro spoke causing the Squad 2 captain to break her glare and look at him "You said she was armed. What weapons are we talking about?"

Soifon rested her chin on her hand before responding "She used handguns, one in each hand. And she…" Soifon stopped for a moment. There was a look of conflict and Hesitation before she forced out "And she fought hand to hand."

"And her strange powers? What was she able to do?"

"She was able to call and discharge lightning."

Byakuya spoke up "And what where her powers like? Were they like a Shinigami's or Quincy's?"

Soifon shook her head as her palm left her chin "No, and they weren't like those other two Ryoka in Karakura either. Her aura was..."

She went silent again, and that same look of confliction and hesitation came through yet again. This time however she gave a brief glance at Dante. The glance was sly, as if she didn't want anyone to notice what she just did. Dante noticed her attempt however, and it unnerved him. Thoughts rushed through his mind wondering if there was any link between the mysterious attacker and him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Soifon finally forced out "…It was just different"

Silence took over the room. Each captain began to think to himself, wondering the nature of the Woman. It was different for Dante however as he had a different reaction from the rest. Despite the little information he was told by Soifon, there was this sense of familiarity as he thought about the attacker. And as he thought more, that feeling of familiarity was replaced by a creeping dread.

Kenpachi then broke the silence as he asked "So what does this broad look like?"

Soifon sighed "She's a foreigner, Caucasian, long blonde hair, with a revealing outfit."

The more Soifon described the woman's appearance; the creeping dread grew more in Dante.

Shunsui then turned to Yamamoto asked "So do we have a plan Yama-ji?"

Ignoring the informality, Yamamoto answered "Our focus right now is finding this woman and apprehending her. I've contacted Urahara and he has agreed to help trying to locate her."

Dante resisted to chuckle when he heard that. While he never met the man, Dante did know who Kisuke Urahara was. It seemed ironic to him that the same people who exiled him were now ready to call on him when they needed help. From what Dante heard, Kisuke didn't let Yamamoto live that down.

With an Indignant look Mayuri protested "You do not need to rely on that man. I am more than capable at discovering the location of this person."

"Be as it may, this will go faster if we had his co-operation." With his eyes still closed Yamamoto's head turned back and forth around the room, as if he was looking at the captains "If any of you have your men in Japan, you are to contact them and tell them to be on the lookout for this woman. If they discover her, they are to report to you immediately."

Kenpachi then roared "And then we get to go down and kick some ass! I've been itching for a good fight since Hueco Mundo!"

"No." Yamamoto's voice immediately shot down Kenpachi's mood. "If you are informed of her whereabouts you report to us."

Mayuri sighed upon hearing this "That's a shame. I was looking forward to collecting this woman. She seemed like quite the fascinating subject."

Ukitake looked at Yamamoto and asked asked "Do the Central 46 know of this Sotaichou?"

Yamamoto shook his head "They do not. Right now they do not need to know. They will be informed if it becomes an issue."

A few of the captains looked shocked at Yamamoto. This seemed far different than how he usually handled the situations.

Yamamoto then spoke again "Do any of you have any more questions?" When he was met with silence, he then continued speaking "Then this meeting is adjourned."

Upon hearing that, Dante started to walk for the door like the rest of the captains. However he suddenly froze when he heard Yamamoto say

"Dante, your presence is still required."

Dante didn't bother to turn around. He stood still as if struck by time. The other captains passed right by him, and in short time they left and the doors swung shut. It was only then then turned around, and found that besides himself, it was only Yamamoto and Unohana in the room. A tense silence filled the room as Dante wondered in anticipation as to why he was the only one required to stay here.

The ringing of a phone broke the silence. Dante immediately scramble to his pockets to check his phone, only to see Yamamoto pick one out of his own uniform and place it to his ear. A few unintelligible murmurs could be heard on the other line, and Yamamoto listened on in silence. Moments passed as the bizarre scene played out. The voiced on the other end carried on, never seeming like it was going to stop. And Yamamoto stood there with the phone to his hand, looking so stoic with his eyes closed that Dante wondered if the old man was really listening or if he started to doze off.

Then abruptly Yamamoto responded to the voice "I see. Carry on as you will." before hanging up.

Both Yamamoto and Unohana focused their attention on Dante. That tense silence returned, only to be cut off so shortly by the gruff voice of Yamamoto

"Urahara just found the location of the woman, Yoruichi has decided to try and apprehend her. Urahara also gave me the the location."

Dante decided to respond "Well that's good. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want you to go to the location and apprehend the suspect, alive."

Dante raised an eyebrow at that "And why do you want me of all people to go?"

Dante then felt unnerved looking at the old man. Yamamoto was now staring at Dante. This time however the oldest captain in the Gotei 13 had his eyes open, a sign that this was serious.

Still staring at the new captain, Yamamoto answered the question "She was looking for you."

Dante was confused "What do you mean?"

It was then that Unohana spoke "There was more to the report of the first group. When the woman confronted them, she asked for a way to contact you."

That didn't sound right to Dante "Me specifically?"

"Yes and it was also reported the way she said your name made it seemed like she knew you."

The creeping dread returned.

Yamamoto then spoke "We also suspect that she might be a demon"

The dread grew as Dante spoke "What makes you say that?"

"Soifon made a comment that the power the Woman had felt like yours."

The dread grew more and more.

Yamamoto resumed "Soifon also commented that the way she fought was like similar to how you fight."

Dante started to feel numb as he asked "So you think were connected in some way?"

Unohana answered "Yes. In fact, we think you might know her."

Dante did not like the sound of that "Are you accusing me of-"

Unohana interrupted Dante "We accuse you of nothing. We however know that you knew quite a few colorful characters in your life, both friends and enemies. We just wonder if any are bold enough to pull a stunt like this."

Dante sighed "I can think of a few. Well, if you had a name or a photo I could tell you if she and I were acquainted."

"Fortunately, one of the Onmitsukidō was able to take a picture of the attacker."

Dante started to feel numb even more upon Unohana's words. Without warning a large television screen came down, and as the black screen lit up, it showed a shockingly clear picture of the attacker.

Moments after the picture was shown, a sudden quake echoed the room, as Dante's hand collided with his skull.

* * *

Dashing across the buildings of Tokyo was the tanned gold eye beauty, Yoruichi Shihōin. In her orange and black outfit, Yoruichi jumped from roof to roof in a more secluded part of the city, always landing on her feet like the cat she was. This part of Tokyo rather was far away from the skyscrapers and apartments, and was filled with industrial warehouses. It was an area that seldom saw people, and in the dead of of night seldom changed to scarcity.

So as usual none were on the streets this night to be treated to the sight of a beauty jumping over the streets like a ninja in feudal times… that is if they could see spirits.

Yoruichi continued to dash from roof to roof, her long purple hair snapping in the wind. She was closing in on the coordinates that her longtime friend Kisuke gave her, the location of the mysterious woman that gave her former division so much trouble. When Kisuke learned of the woman's location, Yoruichi was the one that decided to go.

The reason she gave Kisuke for going was that it was out of mere curiosity. Yoruichi wondered what type of person could give a captain such a hard time. She was given the information that the attacker's powers were unknown. Yoruichi wanted to go and investigate as this could be exciting. There wasn't much going on in Karakura right now. And if there was a fight, she wouldn't mind playing a game of tag.

But the curiosity was just a cover, and although she would never admit it, there was an underlying feeling of guilt whenever it came to Soifon. Soifon used to be one of Yoruichi's guards but Yoruichi viewed her more as a daughter. She was fond of the times she had with her protégée. When she had to leave with Kisuke, the choice was quick but also the hardest. She pushed it out of her mind and told herself that there were more pressing matters. But guilt was sowed into her heart, and sprouted as the years passed.

When the two reconciled during the fight to stop Rukia's execution, Yoruichi thought that the guilt she felt faded away, only for it to come right back during the battle in the fake Karakura. Yoruichi forced herself to sit back and watch her protégé fight against Baraggan Louisenbairn. Yoruichi held her guilt down, relying on her discipline she gained as the former commander of the Onmitsukidō. It was the Onmitsukidō way to leave comrades to die. But it gnawed at Yoruichi when she saw Soifon struggle against the espada. And her heart nearly snapped when she saw Soifon's arm disintegrate in that struggle.

And then there were the events that happened during this week. Kisuke told her all about what happened to Soifon, and the state she was in. Now despite still recovering from the winter war and having eighty percent of her power sealed, Soifon was able to make the attacker flee. That cause pride to swell in Yoruichi, but then doubts crept in her mind, and she found herself asking the question

 _'What if that woman was holding back?'_

Yoruichi tried to keep herself from having these thoughts. She kept telling herself that, Soifon was a captain and that she could take care of herself. Yet whatever logic she gave, did not stop her from feeling the guilt in her heart. Maybe confronting the attacker was a way for Yoruichi to be relieved of her guilt, honestly Yoruichi didn't really know. She only knew one thing.

Yoruichi wanted to make the attacker pay.

Yoruichi continued to jump from building to building, and began to shunpo in order to pick up the pace. Moments later, Yoruichi's eyes fell on the location visible on the horizon, a large warehouse. The warehouse blended into the environment nicely, no different than any of the countless others surrounding it. However, it was no challenge for Yoruichi to label it as the target.

As she closed more distance to the warehouse, Yoruichi's eyes widened. It was then that she felt the aura that Soifon described. It was misleading to call that aura different or strange. It felt so alien, that Yoruichi felt nothing that ever came close to it. Even yards away, it felt smothering, suffocating.

Not one to be deterred however, Yoruichi pressed on. Moments later she was right on the roof of the warehouse. Her eyes narrowed and her body took a posture that was obviously on guard. Something felt very wrong. The former Onmitsukidō commander was an expert at getting a targets precise location by sensing their reiatsu. Yet despite how strong the power was before her, Yoruichi couldn't pinpoint where in the warehouse the attacker was. Yoruichi could only get that the woman was in there. It was if the attacker's power masked her.

Yoruichi sighed and entered the warehouse through a window in the roof. Through pure skill, Yoruichi landed on her feet on the cold concrete floor, never giving a sound and completely suppressing her reiatsu. As she looked around, that wrong feeling worsened in her chest. Even in the warehouse she couldn't pinpoint the attacker's location. Even scanning the room with her cat like eyes, Yoruichi couldn't find any clues to the location of the attacker. Yoruichi wasn't a fool, and knew immediately that this was a trap. The woman was hiding, using her power to completely mask her presence, while also using it to draw in Shinigami, like flies to the bright light of a bug zapper.

But Yoruichi was no fool. She would spring the trap without being caught in it. There was really no other choice for her besides leaving, and she wondered if the attacker would even allow her to do that.

Yoruichi slowly walked through the warehouse, alert every step as she examined the building corner to corner. The strange power crashed against her at every turn, clouding her senses. A long calm blanketed the warehouse, completely clashing with the tense oppressive aura that Yoruichi felt. Moments passed, and Yoruichi kept on her cautious gait. Her guard never dropped. She walked to the center of the warehouse, one that was surprisingly empty, the perfect location for a fight. Her guard never dropped as she constantly anticipated an ambush.

Then the moment stopped in the center of the warehouse, the trap was sprung. The aura reeled in, giving Soifon the ability to discover that the attacker was behind and above her.

The silence was then broken by the cocking of a gun.

 _*BANG* *BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG*_

A volley of gunfire was unleashed where Yoruichi stood. Like a storm of hail, bullets fell to the ground, colliding with such force that they ripped up concrete, pulverizing it into a heavy smoke that filled the room like a screen. Moments later as the dust settled, the spot where Yoruichi once stood was completely decimated. A large rough hole was now seen in the once uniform floor. The edges around the whole were cracked and battered, as if it was eroded for a long time.

Yet Yoruichi was nowhere to be seen. There was no body, no limbs, and no blood. In a flash Yoruichi appeared only a few feet away, completely unscathed from the hail of bullets just so quickly rained down on her.

It was then a voice could be heard "Would you look at that."

Yoruichi looked up and saw what was definitely the attacker. Hanging on beams that support the roof, was a Caucasian woman with shoulder length blond hair swept back, and striking blue eyes. Her body was similar to Yoruichi's in both muscle mass and endowment. Her curves were accentuated by leather pants and a corset with a lightning bolt style crack going down the middle. A black choker adorned her neck. In the woman's hands were to handguns, as large as bricks and as black as obsidian. Thin lines of smoke left the barrels of the guns rising up before dissipating.

Then suddenly the woman kicked off the beam, and as her arms were stretched out she dived in the most elegant of forms. As she dove head first to the ground, her body shifted as she spun vertically at least one hundred and eighty degrees. Her feet were to the ground just seconds before contact. As she landed, a large thud could be heard, and dust rose all around her.

The woman slowly rose from her landing position. And as she stood, as tall as Yoruichi, she looked at the former Onmitsukidō captain. A sly smile was on the blond beauty's face, a smile that would normally adorn Yoruichi's countenance. Yet Yoruichi gave no smile in return, just a cold hard stare.

The mysterious woman then spoke once more in a sultry tone "You're faster than the others. They were only barely able to escape that, while it was obviously no sweat for you."

A short reply came from Yoruichi "I better be. I have a reputation for being the fastest."

"Hmm. You're not dressed like those ninjas. Are you one of them?"

"I haven't been one of them for more than a hundred years."

The woman sighed "That's a shame. You're not going to be able to help me then."

"You attack all of those people to get them to help?"

The woman shrugged "They attacked me first. I just asked them to relay a message to a acquaintance but they went for their swords."

"From what I've heard that was only the first group. You attacked everyone else." Yoruichi then raised an eyebrow "And this was to contact an acquaintance? You couldn't do that yourself?"

"When the person you're looking for is working for a military group on the other side, it's near impossible to contact him. I figured if I knocked enough of these ninjas around, then he would be bound to come. You know how the saying goes, if life gives you lemons…"

The woman then stopped and raised an eyebrow before continuing "You know… If you're not with the ninja's anymore, what are you doing here?"

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed "Mostly curiosity, but also some payback for my protégé."

"And that is?"

"The captain you roughed up."

The woman's expression changed to a more thoughtful one, and as moments passed in thought, her lips curled back upward in a smirk.

The woman gave a short chuckle "Oh that girl. It's funny, for how revered she was, she didn't seem that tough."

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed "Did you know that she's recovering from a wound and had eighty percent of her power sealed?"

"That's a shame. She did seem like she was going to be a lot of fun." The woman then shot Yoruichi an inquisitive stare "Are your powers sealed too?"

"Nope. That's one of the perks of living in the world of the living for over a century."

"Good. So you want to go a round?"

It was then that the familiar smirk graced Yoruichi's lips "Damn right I do."

A tense silence followed after. Both Yoruichi and the mysterious woman stared at each other. Both were grinning, yet the grins were not joyous but rather more deadly and daring, as if each were issuing a challenge to the other with only their smirk.

Stillness took over the warehouse. The two stayed frozen in their places, as if struck by time. The stillness went on for seconds that seemed like lifetimes. The the lunar beams piercing through the roof window, the only illumination in the warehouse, fell on the two's faces. The moonlight highlighted their grins and made them even more terrifying.

Then the silence snapped.

Yoruichi was the first to take initiative. And with a burst of shunpo she appeared in front of the mysterious woman airborne. Her leg already sprung out in a kick, aimed right at the woman's temple. The woman's smirk never faltered and moments before the kick connected the woman leaned back and her head dropped. Yoruichi's leg glided through the air, now only inches above the woman's skull.

And as Yoruichi recovered, the smirk faded and her eyes widened as the woman was standing upright once again. And now in Yoruichi's face was the barrel of one a gun.

*BANG*

The gunshot illuminated the warehouse for a brief second. However instead of hitting its target, the bullet passed through air before hitting one of the walls, as Yoruichi was now nowhere to be seen. The woman stayed expressionless for a few moments, only for the smirk to return as she then pointed the gun in her right hand behind her back, past her left shoulder. Another gunshot filled the air, yet it was too late as the bullet passed through a blur.

Yoruichi reappeared, only to shunpo yet again in an attempt to dodge the volley of gunfire leveled at her. A deadly game of cat and mouse then occurred. Yoruichi would shunpo, erreticly and unpredictably at different locations only to be followed by a storm of bullets. The mysterious woman would twirl and spin, like she was an expert of ballet as she fired each guns. Yet these were not random or reckless blind fire as it seemed. Each shot was precise, aimed right at the location that Yoruichi would appear, as if she could follow the goddess of flash with just her eyes.

Yoruichi continued to shunpo, dodging the wave of gunfire that missed her by a few inches. Then the gunfire stopped. The mysterious woman's eye's narrowed and her smirked faltered. For now Yoruichi was nowhere to be seen. The woman now lost the goddess of flash.

However suddenly, in a flash of shunpo, Yoruichi appeared right behind the woman. Airborne yet again, Yoruichi was coiled and ready to send out another kick. Her leg lashed out, and as it made contact, Yoruichi's eyes widened. A kick that that could kill hollows with ease was blocked by the woman's left hand with little to no effort. And with the break of contact and a simple turn, the woman now leveled both guns at Yoruichi.

*BANG* *BANG**BANG**BANG*

Silence fell, and the mysterious woman looked on at the aftermath of her attack. Lying on the ground was Yoruichi. Four bullet wounds adorned her body, two shoulders and two in the knees. Sanguine sputtered from the wounds. And Yoruichi's face was one of numb shock.

However the face of the mysterious woman showed no amusement as she arched her eyebrows, sighed, and spoke two simple words

"Oh please."

Without warning, pointing one of the guns behind her back, the woman fired. The bullet again passed through a blur. The woman then turned unsurprised at the sight before her.

Standing a few feet in front of her was Yoruichi, glaring and completely clean and free of all wounds. And where the wounded Yoruichi once was was now a white cloth with four holes. The two stayed silent for a moment amongst all the destruction they made, as each wall was riddled with bullet holes. The car of Bonnie and Clyde seemed modest in comparison.

The mysterious woman sighed before speaking "That seems like a nice party trick but it won't work on me."

Yoruichi scoffed "I see. So no room for tricks huh?"

The woman smirked "Not if you want to win."

"Alright then," Yoruichi's eyes narrowed "let's get a bit more serious."

Immediately Yoruichi shunpo'd and appeared far above her opponent. The mysterious woman scoffed and raised her guns in another round. But before she could unleash a volley of fire, she was forced on the defensive from Yoruichi's attack.

With her right arm stretched out, palm facing the woman, crimson energy grasped at Yoruichi's hand as she shouted

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"

An orb of crimson shot from Yoruichi's hand and accelerated towards the woman. Yet still smirking, the woman jumped back in a flip, only moments from the orb making contact with the spot she was once at. A large explosion occurred. A new crater could be seen in the floor, dust was kicked up and shards of concrete flew in all directions like shrapnel. Yet through grace or luck, the woman dodged each shard.

As the woman landed, her momentum caused her to slide back. When she stopped fully she turned to her side to see Yoruichi once more reciting the same kido as another crimson orb shot from her hand. Still smirking, the woman kicked off from the ground in a cartwheel and watched as the orb passed below her and collided into one of the walls. As she finished her maneuver the woman saw Yoruichi already in the air again, lobbing another ball of destruction at her, and forcing her to dive out of the way.

Yoruichi did not let up. Each time she would cast Hadō #31, she would shunpo to another location before casting the kido again. From the the sides to high above, Yoruichi rained down red fire upon the woman. If one would look, the destruction around them would look like what most would imagine Armageddon being or what Dinosaurs saw in their last moments. Yet it was on a much more contained scale.

And despite fire being rained upon her at all sides, the mysterious woman never let her smirk falter as evaded imminent death. Each blast of kido was evaded in a graceful manner. Cartwheels, somersaults, back flips, front flips, and large dives, all were performed by the woman as she dodged each crimson orb with the skill of a master gymnast. Crimson balls passed by her at all angles, some destroying more concrete, others ripping through the aluminum walls as if it was cardboard. Yet the woman still remained unharmed.

As the woman landed once more, she looked to see Yoruichi in front of her launching another ball of fire. As the orb left Yoruichi's palm and moved towards its target, the smirking woman started to move. Shifting her weight the woman spun, and as her back was towards Yoruichi, her legs kicked up from the ground, leaving her slightly airborne. Now facing the crimson orb, the woman's right leg was was coiled for a kick. But as she was preparing for her airborne strike, something odd was occurring with her foot. Saffron electricity danced along the woman's foot as it sailed. And inches away from the target, the crimson orb and the woman's foot connected.

Repelled by the energy enhanced kicked, the ball shot back at Yoruichi with accelerated speeds that rivaled that bullet. But it arrived too late, as it passed through a blurred after image of the ex-commander of the Onmitsukidō and crashed into one of the walls.

Turing to her left, the woman saw Yoruichi with her palm stretched out yet again. However instead of casting the same kido, Yoruichi shouted a different incantation.

"Hadō #58. Tenran"

Heavy winds circled around her palm, and a large powerful cyclone shot towards the woman. She was able to dodge with time to spare. However she saw Yoruichi right in her face airborne yet again and right in her face. Yoruichi launched a powerful kick at the woman yet again, and the woman simply ducked underneath, but after committing to the dodge the woman saw something that made it painfully obvious that it was a trap.

Now crouched on the ground was Yoruichi. But more importantly, her palm was stretched outward yet again, this time point plank from the woman's chest.

"Hadō #58. Tenran"

Upon hearing that, the woman launched herself into the air, feet barely missing the cyclone that followed a half second later. The Woman soared high in the air, impossible for any mere human as she was close to the ceiling. As she looked down, her smirk faltered and her eyes widened. For Yoruichi was already on her.

In front of Yoruichi was a golden triangle in which three smaller solid triangles where at its points, surging with energy. Now grinning, Yoruichi shouted

"Bakudō #30. Shitotsu Sansen"

The three solid triangles shot out at the woman. And before the woman had any time to react, the triangles connected. The force added to her momentum and she soon collided with the ceiling. Now on the ground, Yoruichi stared at her handy work. Now pinned to the ceiling was the mysterious woman. Two triangles pinned each shoulder, while one pinned her in the abdomen.

While looking over her handiwork, Yoruichi grinned. A small chuckle escaped her lips. And slightly turning her head to look behind her, Yoruichi gave a compliment.

"Good try. It was somewhat sloppy. But for an imitation you could do worse."

"You're too kind."

The reply came from the woman, but instead of coming from above, it came from behind. Turning Yoruichi saw the mysterious woman smirking even more. And in the woman's place of the binding kido, was a large black cloth sagging down to earth in the middle. The trick Yoruichi performed was now performed by a different trickster.

The woman shrugged as she continued to speak "I figured that learning that trick would come in useful later. Can't pull the wool over your eyes though cant I?"

"Not on your life."

The woman shook her head "Figured as much. Is it time for another round?"

"Damn right."

Immediately, Yoruichi shunpo'd behind the woman. Arm stretched out, she recited the previous kido spell again. The golden triangle appeared and another three smaller triangles shot forth.

The woman jumped back into the air, and the triangles passed below her. Yoruichi was already in the air as well, palm stretched out for another round of kido. But her words died in her mouth as she looked up at the mysterious woman. For the barrels of each gun were pointed yet again at Yoruichi. But this time it was different. Saffron energy surged in each barrel as sparks danced in between.

And still smirking, the woman pulled both triggers. The bullets left the barrel, completely surrounded by electricity. Yoruichi already escaped via shunpo, as the the charge bullets passed through her afterimage before striking the ground. A deafening quake filled the warehouse, as a bright flash followed before dissipating quickly. There was now a large hole where the bullets hit, and the concrete became as red and as molten as lava.

As the woman landed, Yoruichi reappeared in front of her, arm stretched outward as familiar crimson energy danced upon palm as she shouted once again

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"

Another crimson orb flew towards the mysterious woman. Instead of dodging this time however the woman raised her guns that were still glowing at the barrels, before unleashing another charged shot. The electrified bullets crashed into orb, causing it to explode prematurely. However the bullets didn't stop. As they pierced through the orb they still continued towards Yoruichi. Yoruichi was forced to shunpo, barely escaping as the bullets were accelerated far more due to the energy, similar to that of a rail gun.

Yoruichi reappeared far above the mysterious woman, and immediately after appearing she summoned another crimson orb before disappearing in shunpo yet again. Yoruichi began another bombardment of fire, but unlike the first it was far more intense. Yoruichi would shunpo faster and faster after each incantation of kido, living up to her title as the goddess of flash. She moved so fast that multiple crimson orbs were in the sky at once, as they fell down to the woman in a barrage of artillery.

But there was no dodging from the woman this time. Instead, she brought her charged pistols up and aimed them at the orbs of death before firing. Quickly and efficiently did the electrified bullets pierced through the orbs before continuing through the roof.

Yet the woman was not done. The moment Yoruichi appeared; the woman had the ex-captain in her sights. Lightning crackled as a hail of charged bullets were directed towards Yoruichi. But Yoruichi was not defenseless. In a series of leaps and bounds, she evaded the gunfire. And as she landed she put both hands on the ground as she shouted

"Bakudō #21. Sekienton"

A thick Red smoke filled the room. The gunfire stopped dead. Yoruichi disappeared in the smoke and the mysterious woman took a hard look around trying to find her. While Yoruichi was still in warehouse, finding her would be difficult, as Vision and movement was almost completely hindered by the smoke.

Moments passed as the mysterious woman looked around. She started to walk through the large building and scouted the building for her opponent. And as more time passed her eyes fell on the only thing visible in the smoke. A great light could be seen that was a brighter shade of red than the smoke. And as the woman focused on the light, Yoruichi's voice could be heard as she shouted that familiar kido spell.

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"

The crimson light charged through towards the mysterious woman. However instead of the familiar orb, the light took as a raging stream. Sometimes the stream fluctuated, and it writhed and squirmed, making it seem like it was sentient.

As the stream charged towards the mysterious woman, she gave a chuckle as she spun her guns before holstering them. Then her arms started to move. They glided through the air, in a circular motion before coming together. As the met a translucent circle appeared before her, saffron in color, the same as the lightning. Her arms pulled away as her right hand was brought behind her over her left shoulder, before she snapped it towards the stream. And as her hand snapped forward a large current of lightning, as unstable and alive as the stream of crimson before it, shot forward.

Saffron clashed with crimson. The warehouse was illuminated with blinding light. All of the red smoke was dissipated by the force. What little remained of the aluminum walls flexed and bent chaotically under the force. The beams that held up the roof began to twist and warp.

For a while the two forces were locked in a stalemate. But as time went on the saffron lightning began to overpower the crimson stream, pushing it back before overtaking it completely and crashing into the source. The lightning went through one of the walls turning the aluminum glowing red as it changed from solid to liquid.

Only seconds later the lightning and the circle faded into nothingness. And not a second later did Yoruichi appear behind the woman in a flash of shunpo. Completely unscathed, she raised her fist as she leapt towards the woman, committed to pouncing her like how a cheetah pounces on a gazelle.

But Yoruichi was in for another surprise. For when she was only inches way the woman, is when the woman disappeared in a surge of saffron. Yoruichi met the ground, and sensing the woman she turned around and looked above. Far above ex-captain was the woman, hovering in the air with her right hand raised up to the ceiling, and electricity dancing upon her palm.

And just when Yoruichi started to react, the woman struck her arm down. A bolt of lightning followed fast and vicious. Thunder cracked, completely deafening to any nearby. And a blinding flash filled the room. The bolt that came from the mysterious woman was no different than the lightning that comes down from the sky.

The bolt of lightning ripped through more concrete than any other attack before it. A new crater adorned the floor, glowing red, filled with smoke, and deep enough that it could serve as a hot spring. The mysterious woman landed soon after at the rim of the crater, looking at her handiwork. She stared down for what seemed like hours yet were only seconds, waiting for the smoke to clear.

Moments later the smoke cleared, to show that the crater was empty. Chuckling she turned fully to see Yoruichi grinning madly at her.

The woman asked "You have to tell me how you survived that."

Yoruichi chuckled "There is still a lot tricks up my sleeve."

The woman was about to respond but stopped as she looked at Yoruichi. Gone was her orange over shirt and now showing was the executive attire, that black shirt that covered only the front while leaving the arms and back exposed.

The woman then whistled "Nice outfit"

Yoruichi's grin grew "Jealous?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. Where can I get that top?"

"Sorry, but it's an exclusive piece."

The woman sighed "Well that's a shame"

"And besides, you aren't going to have time to go shopping once I'm through with you."

The woman grinned again "Is that so?"

Yoruichi nodded as her grin took a fatal note "It's now time to take the training gloves off."

And as those left her mouth, Yoruichi raised her right arm to her side, as her fingers curled into a fist. And as her fist closed a single silver spark flew from her knuckles. Silver Reiatsu covered her body. More sparks flew from her body, starting small but becoming far longer as the the seconds passed. The sparks soon turned into arcs of silver lightning, fluctuating and squirming violently. Pieces of concrete broke away from the floor and rose into the air, before they were struck into oblivion by the lightning.

Yoruichi's hand, now open, was quickly clenched into a fist yet again. More arcs grew from her raising high and hitting the beams of the roof. The other arcs grew even more lashing out at anything they touched.

And looking at this spectacle, the mysterious woman chuckled "You do still have some tricks your sleeve."

Yoruichi chuckled as well "Only one other person can perform this technique."

"I'm guessing I should be flattered if you're using it on me then. And what is the name of technique?"

"Shunko. You better brace yourself though. I still can't control it fully."

"Really? Well then I better get a little serious as well."

A saffron aura surrounded the woman. Electricity danced from her hands to her feet. Arcs of electricity flew from her, as long and as violent as the arcs from Yoruichi. A Heavy wind blew from the woman unearthing more concrete and flinging large chunks away with same velocity as if they were being shot out of a canon. Some support beams snapped from the gusts, causing the others to sag.

The aluminum walls flex and bend, while some started to break from their bonds. A large arc shot from the woman. It struck the roof as a thousand sparks fell down like the cinders of a just launched firework.

And as the mysterious woman's power raged, Yoruichi looked on with eyes as wide as saucers. A deep perturbed feeling stuck her heart as she felt the woman's aura crash al around her. Her Aura looked so bright yet felt so dark. Nothing was similar to this woman's aura, neither Shinigami nor Quincy, neither Sado's fullbring nor Orihime's unique powers. In the hundred years she lived in the world of the living, there was nothing nothing did Yoruichi ever come across that felt this…Unnatural.

As she looked at the woman whose eldritch power was raging, Yoruichi kept asking herself one thing. What is this woman before her? Is she human, or is she…

Yoruichi froze for a mere moment. Her grin shortly returned, and she began to laugh. She hollered like she was just told the most amusing joke.

The mysterious woman saw the laughing captain and she arched one eyebrow as she asked

"What's so funny?"

Yoruichi responded while the laughter died down "It's no wonder why none of the others knew what you were. Only a rare few Shinigami know of the existence of your kind. I've never met one of your kind before, but I now know what you are."

"Oh and what exactly do you think I am?"

"A devil"

The woman stayed silent for a moment before she smirked once again, and began clap slowly "Pretty good, but knowing what I am you still want to go?"

Fierce determination shined in Yoruichi's eyes "No turning back now."

The woman stopped clapping and didn't respond. Yoruichi didn't bother to continue the dialogue. For moments the energies that discharged from the two did more speaking. Tension was in the air as the woman's aura and Yoruichi's reiatsu mingled and clashed at each other. Each stared at the other, eyes hard as steel as they remained motionless as statues.

And just as quick as the silence happened, it snapped.

Yoruichi and the mysterious woman kicked off from the ground and leapt at each each other. Right hands raised high and curled into a fist; the two were ready to pounce on the other. In no time at all they were only inches away from each other's faces. And as their fist's moved into play, Time seemed to slow.

Silver and saffron clashed. A bright light filled the room, one that would permanently blind any poor soul that would see it. As the attacks clashed, a violent shockwave hit the room. Most of the aluminum walls were ripped from their supports and curled together as they were flung into the streets. Many of the support beams finally snapped, and a quarter of the roof collapsed as more metal fell to the earth. The window in still standing part of the roof finally shattered, and a million shards of glistening glass fell down like raindrops.

A heavy brown smoke filled the air, but settled rather quickly. And as it settled, the smoke revealed Yoruichi, seemingly unscathed from the clash. Knees and hands on the now uneven concrete, Yoruichi gasped. She took fast heavy breaths, trying to get as much air into her as she could in a frantic attempt to catch her breath.

But in the smoke was a walking figure, and the smoke settled the figure was revealed to the woman who was also unscathed. The woman took leisurely steps as she walked towards the ex-captain. Only seconds later, the woman was hovering right over Yoruichi. And just when Yoruichi caught her breath she lashed at the woman with a sweeping kick.

The woman was caught off guard, and the kick swept her off her feet as her back crashed into the ground. Yoruichi didn't let up and raised her leg only to bring it back down in an axe kick aimed right at the woman's face. But the woman was able to join both forearms together above her head and was able to block the kick. When heel and forearm met, Yoruichi bit a grunt of pain, as it felt like her heel crashed into steel.

But the worse was not over, as the woman removed one of her arms from the block and grabbed Yoruichi by the ankle. And with surprising strength, she tossed Yoruichi many feet away. Yoruichi was in the air for only a moment before meeting back with the earth. Her body crashed violently. The momentum caused her to skip across the concrete like a stone across water.

It was only after a few skips did Yoruichi recovered and dug her heels into the ground, the momentum causing her to slide. When she finally stopped moving, Yoruichi looked and saw that the mysterious woman was already on her, lifting off the air as her knee sailed towards the ex-captain. Yoruichi brought down her hands and knocked the knee down, grunting in pain as she did so. And before the woman could another attack Yoruichi turned and launched a spinning elbow that connected with the woman's jaw.

The woman staggered back a few steps. When she finally recuperated she saw Yoruichi already on top of her sailing through the air with her leg locked out in a dive kick. Barely able to respond, the woman gave the most subtle of movements as she shifted her body to the side. It was just enough for Yoruichi's kick to miss only by a few centimeters, while the woman launched her fist at the wide eyed captain.

The woman's fist crashed into Yoruichi's face as she fell back on the ground. There was a groan of pain from Yoruichi, but she was already forced to move as the woman brought down her heel in an axe kick of her own. Yoruichi rolled out of the way, only getting her shoulder grazed by the heel of the woman's black stiletto.

As soon as Yoruichi stood up, the woman already attacked her with a kick aimed at her head. Yoruichi blocked with her forearm retaliated with a kick of her own, hitting the woman's midsection and causing her to wince. As the woman took a step took a step back, Yoruichi launched another kick at the woman, only to be intercepted by the woman with a kick of her own. Yoruichi was struck in her back leg, nearly causing her to lose balance.

The two were locked in a brawl that put the top martial artists in the world to shame. Punches and kicks were launched with such precision only to be parried with dodges and parries with such skill. Yoruichi's arms and legs cut through the air so fast that that they nearly gave a blurred after image. Yet the woman blocked each strike and gave a few of her own that made the earth shook. But as time went on, this fight became less of skill and rather of attrition. One would be struck and immediately strike the other. It was now a fight of will rather than skill, as each would throw defense out the window and focus solely on offense.

As time the two didn't bother to move. They stood in place knees wobbling and legs threatening to shut down. The two were hunched over, throwing sloppy punches to the other while receiving them as well. The woman struck Yoruichi in the jaw. Yoruichi responded in kind.

Only seconds later did the two stop throwing punches. Bloodied and battered, they gasped and panted for air. Stillness fell in the ruined warehouse as the two recuperated. Yoruichi and the woman gave hard stares to the other as they continued to breathe heavily.

When the panting stopped the mysterious woman began to speak "You aren't half bad you know."

Yoruichi forced a smile through her breathing "You two. Hit like a damn train."

Although she wouldn't say it, the woman grew on Yoruichi. If Yoruichi wasn't fighting her, she would be probably willing to become a friend. Despite being a devil, the woman was a kindred spirit, like a sister that Yoruichi never had.

The woman chuckled "So what's your name?"

"Yoruichi Shihōin"

"Yoruichi huh? Has a nice ring to it."

Breath finally secured, Yoruichi then gave a chuckle "What about you? You have a name? Or should I refer to you as Mrs. Satan?"

"That sounds charming, but sadly I do have a name. It's Trish."

"Trish" Yoruichi gave a strange look "Doesn't sound like a name a devil would have."

Trish chuckled "Well that's what I was given."

"Alright then" Yoruichi forced herself to stand upright "Ready to finish this?"

Trish stood properly "Sure, let's end this with a bang"

Silver reiatsu covered Yoruichi once again. And that familiar saffron aura covered Trish once more. Arcs of lightning danced across the two. Gusts of wind rushed through the ruined building as the energies of the two combatants clashed. The two stared at each other, willing to go all out this time, and finish it with one strike.

 _*SCHWING*_

The sound of steel crashing into metal echoed in the room. Silver and Saffron faded from Yoruichi and Trish as their concertation was broken at the sight in front of them. For now in-between the two was a large sword stabbed in the ground. And a foreign voice could be heard from above

"Sorry ladies, Fights over."

Yoruichi looked up, and saw someone new. Now sitting on the jagged edge of the broken roof window, was a white haired blued eyed man wearing crimson Haori. Yoruichi then heard a sigh from Trish who placed her hand on her hips and then began to speak.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here Dante."

Off guard Yoruichi thought to herself _'Dante?'_ She knew that name. It was the name that was given to her by Kisuke when she asked who the new captain of Division 5 was. But she heard that name many times during her travels, a man whose reputation grew into myth. She wondered if the two were the same. And know looking at the man in red she started to think _'so that means…'_

Yoruichi was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a sigh from Dante. She saw him push himself up from the window and drop right down onto the ruined concrete.

Dante then walked over to Trish, giving her an Irritated glare as he said "Don't start. You've caused enough trouble."

"Trouble?" Trish gave a look of disbelief "I wouldn't have caused any trouble if you were easier to get a hold of."

"So you couldn't have just called? I know you have a phone."

"How could I when you never gave me your number?"

Dante groaned "You could have written it down when I called you for that favor a few months ago. There's a thing called caller I.D."

"I don't want to hear that coming from the man who still used a rotary phone for all those years. And if you think that caller I.D works when you're being called from a different plane of existence, then you got another thing coming!"

Clearly irritated, Dante was about to reply when the sound of laughter cut him off. Distracted from their argument, both Dante and Trish turned to see Yoruichi. Hand on her stomach, the ex-captain had her head up towards the roof as she laughed. As Yoruichi laughed, all tension drained from her.

Confused Trish asked her "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing" Yoruichi answered as she wiped a tear from her eye and looked back at the two "It's just, you two fight like a married couple."

"Oh please." Trish pointed at Dante "He would never marry anyone."

Yoruichi laughed yet again and then turned to Dante "More importantly, you're Dante? The new captain of division five?"

Dante nodded "Yeah that's me… Oh that's right, we haven't met. You're Yoruichi right?"

Yoruichi nodded again, but kept quiet for a moment. Instead she took a long hard look at Dante, examining all of his being. Yoruichi's eyes then turned to Trish and examined her as well. For a moment she would shifte her attention between the two, as if she was piecing something together.

Then Yoruichi closed her eyes briefly and gave a short laugh before remarking with "So they the really did appoint the son of Sparda as a captain."

Though subtly, Dante's eyes widened "You know?"

"Each head of the great four houses are told about the existence of Devils and the tale of your father. And I've been in the human world long enough to hear enough tales from seedy bars and occult shops to hear the tale of the legendary dark knight Dante."

Dante chuckled "Flattering that the former head of the Shihōin clan knows about me?"

Trish interrupted the conversation "You make it sound like she's a noble."

Dante then turned to Trish "You basically attacked a princess."

Trish's eyes widened a little before returning back to normal only a few seconds later. She then turned back to Yoruichi. And with a smirk on her face she faked a curtsy as she said

"My apologies your majesty."

Yoruichi gave a short laugh and turned back to Dante who was now looking at her "Who else knows?"

Dante sighed "Only the old man, Unohana, and Toshiro. Everybody else has been kept in the dark."

"Even the central 46?"

"Even them."

"Good thinking. Each head is sworn to complete secrecy over the matter, to avoid panic. Why does Toshiro know though?"

Dante sighed "Because of… personal reasons."

"Ok then." Yoruichi went silent for a moment before turning towards Trish "So you caused all this to get into contact with him?"

Trish shrugged "My options were limited. And I haven't had a good fight in a while. I figured that one of you would be able to be a decent challenge."

Dante then grunted "And cause the whole of the soul society to go alert."

Trish gave a curious look at Dante "I caused that much trouble?"

Dante shook his head "It took a hell of a lot of convincing for the old man to not see you as a threat. If you pulled this stunt a year or two ago he would have been calling for your execution. For right now he merely wants you taken in for questioning."

Yoruichi chimed in "Yamamoto always was stubborn when it came to his principles. He only started to change his view on things recently."

Trish chuckled as she gave an innocent expression to Dante "Oh well. I know you would protect me if something like that happened."

Dante shook his head in Irritation "Don't go there."

"May I ask?" Yoruichi waited for the two to look at her before she continued "Trish, What is your relation to Dante?"

Trish chuckled "Were partners."

Dante however chimed in "Ex partners. Death causes partnerships to split up."

Trish gave an irritated sigh of her own however before she could respond Yoruichi chimed in yet again with

"I did hear that you died recently. However No one ever said how you kicked the bucket. How did you die?"

Dante shrugged "I don't even know how."

There was silence for a minute, but Yoruichi cut through it "So what happens now?"

"That depends on Trish." Dante took a hard look at Trish "What did you need to contact me for?"

Trish took a short breath "I wanted to let you in on something important happening."

Dante raised an eyebrow "Important?"

"You think I would go through all of this for anything but? Something big is happening in hell Dante. And your Shinigami friends might get swept along with it."

Yoruichi gave a puzzled look "What do you mean?"

Trish began to open her mouth but before she could speak, Dante interrupted her with

"Wait a minute. If it involves them you might want to wait until we get over there."

Trish arched an eyebrow "Over where?"

"Didn't you listen? The old man wants you brought back for questioning."

"What if they want to kill me?"

Dante shook his head "You definitely didn't listen. I convinced the old man that you aren't a real threat. He just wants to know why in the hell you did all of this." Dante then looked at Yoruichi "What are you going to do?"

Yoruichi stayed silent for a moment before taking a deep breath "I'm coming with you. I want to check on Soifon, and perhaps I could be of help if something important is happening."

"Alright then." Dante then walked past the two ladies before stopping. With a slight turn of the head he looked back at the two "Follow me."

Dante walked out of the ruined warehouse, stepping and jumping over large debris that used to be be part of the roof. Yoruichi and Trish followed soon after.

* * *

"IDIOT!"

Yamamoto's voice shook the earth, causing Trish to nearly fall on her back. As soon as she arrived in the soul society, she was brought to the Captains council room by Dante and Yoruichi. The only other people in the room were Yamamoto, Unohana and Toshiro, and the oldest captain seemed none too pleased.

Yamamoto waited for Trish to regain her balance before he continued "To attack the Onmitsukidō, the youths of today are so brazen in their actions!"

Trish raised her hands up as she spoke "What? They attacked first so I fought back."

"While that may be true for the first group, you deliberately attack the others on your own accord. There is no defense for that."

Trish gave an exasperated sigh "Well sorry gramps, but I'm not one of your lackeys and your laws don't apply to the real world so I don't-"

"Trish was it?"

Unohana's sickly sweet voice caused Trish to turn to the fourth division captain. And when Trish's eyes fell upon her, they immediately widened in fear as they locked in on that terrifying smile.

Unohana continued to speak "Normally you would be on trial, but we've taken risks to bring you here simply for questioning, mainly because Dante had faith in you. Please don't show us that it was all for nothing."

Trish only nodded in silence. As soon as it appeared, the terrifying expression from Unohana faded. A slight chuckle could be heard from Yoruichi.

"You still got it Unohana" Yoruichi complimented.

Unohana simply nodded. Ignoring the two Trish then looked at Dante, with a morbid curiosity in her eyes. Dante shook his head and sighed.

Trish then spoke "She could cause a demon to crap his pants."

Dante sighed again "Now you know why I joined."

Toshiro then spoke "You really know some troublesome characters Dante."

"Don't I know it?"

Trish then took a hard look at Toshiro before asking "Dante, who's this cutie?"

"That's Toshiro"

"He looks a lot like you."

"Well family tends to look similar"

Trish looked back at Dante "Family?"

"He's my nephew."

Trish eyes widened "Nephew?! Vergil had a kid?"

"Two actually, Toshiro is Nero's older brother."

Trish looked back at Toshiro with an expression of Disbelief before looking back at Dante "No way. So Nero was related to you."

"You know him?" Toshiro's voice caused Trish to look back at him "You know my brother?"

Trish gave a soft smile "I sure do hun. He's a good kid."

"Enough" The stern voice of Yamamoto caused everybody to look back at him. He then turned his head directly at Trish before resuming "The more pressing matter at hand is what important news you have for Dante."

Trish didn't say anything at first. Instead she gave a look at Dante, and waited for a response. Dante only nodded, showing that it was indeed alright. Trish then turned back towards Yamamoto and took a deep breath.

Then she began to speak "Do you know of the current state of the demon world?" when Yamamoto shook his head slowly, Trish continued "For the last couple of years, hell has had numerous fights for the throne." She then pointed at Dante "And ever since he died, the demons have become far more brazen in their fighting."

"How brazen?" Unohana asked.

"Originally, it was just a squabble between a few groups. Now it has turned into a full fledge civil war between a ton of factions."

Dante asked "Where's the fighting been taking place?"

"Mostly in hell, but there have been a couple of clashes on earth, although that is mostly assassinations and ambushes rather than full on fights."

"Are there any factions that are big players?"

"There are two."

Yoruichi chimed in "Two huh? What are there names of these two factions?"

"I don't know."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow "Don't know?"

"These two have done everything to remain in the shadows, and they're pretty effective at it. Almost nothing is known about them other than rumors, but their presence is always felt."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow "How does this make them big players?"

"The more known factions are taking a beating from these two. They always strike from the shadows and leave without letting anyone know who they were. They're monsters amongst monsters in that sense."

There was silence in the room. Thoughts of wonder came rushing through the captains heads as they guessed the identity of these two shadowy organizations. However the silence was soon broken.

Yoruichi then spoke "This is fascinating and all, but you said that back at the warehouse that this involved the Shinigami. I've yet to see why."

Trish sighed "I was getting to that. I was on a job a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure that the demon that I was hunting was a member of one of these factions."

Unohana asked "How do you know that?"

"I don't have any evidence, but it is too much of a coincidence. The guy kept going on about how he was a part of something greater than himself. If that wasn't enough, he wasn't like any of the other demons."

"How so?"

"He was a scientist."

Dante raised an eyebrow "A scientist? That's almost unheard of amongst demons."

Trish nodded "It is. He had a laboratory deep in the mountains, where he had many specimens he tested on."

Trish stopped, took a deep breath and continued "Some of the specimens were Shinigami."

A tense silence filled the room. Dante's eyes narrowed, while Toshiro's widened. Yoruichi and Unohana looked far more serious. And top the tension, Yamamoto's eyes opened.

Yamamoto then spoke "Are you sure?"

Trish nodded "They gave off powers like yours and the bastard scientist that I was hunting even admitted that they were Shinigami."

Toshiro then turned to the oldest captains "Wasn't there a repot about Shinigami missing a month or two back?"

Unohana nodded "A few Shinigami of division 6 were reported missing after a mission in the world of the living. Kuchiki-taichou said that he was unable to locate them."

Yamamoto then spoke directly at Trish "What happened to the Shinigami?"

Trish looked a bit hesitant at first but replied none the less "They were… changed, in a way you don't want to know. I had to put them out of their misery."

A sudden pressure filled the room. Everyone looked at Yamamoto, the source. Although he didn't show it, there was a building rage in the man.

Then he spoke, his voice slow and bold "Do you know why?"

Trish responded "When we fought, he claimed that he was helping his employer, a scientist far greater than him. He claimed that this was preparation for what he called the relicta."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow "relicta?"

"It means discarded" All turned towards Dante and after a few moments he shrugged "Its Latin."

Trish shook her head and sighed "Well anyway, when we fought he kept going on about the Shinigami. He said that many of you were going to befall a similar fate."

Unohana then asked "What do you mean?"

Trish shrugged "Don't know. After saying that, he suddenly froze, became frantic, and started to dissolve like he was thrown into acid. He must have had a kill switch installed into him to keep him from talking too much."

"And you think that one of he was a part of one of these mysterious factions?"

"He basically implied that he was a member of one, and what other faction relies on secrecy other than those two. I know it's not the best of evidence but I've got a gut feeling about the whole thing."

Yamamoto then inquired "And what do you think their plan is for the Soul society?"

"I don't think that we'll know that until they execute it. But if I was a betting woman, I'd say one thing."

"And that is?"

"War."

The room went silent, as everyone was left to their own thoughts. All turned to Yamamoto. His eyes were closed once again as he contemplated the next course of action. Moments passed but before long, his eyes opened once again and he began to speak.

"Unohana, Toshiro, You are to tell no one of this." He then turned to Yoruichi "You may tell Urahara and Tsukabishi, but only them. No one else must hear."

Yoruichi nodded "good idea."

Trish then turned to Dante "Should we get anybody we know to help?"

Dante shook his head "I don't want to involve them unless it's absolutely needed."

"However…" Dante and Trish turned to Yamamoto as he continued to speak "There is still the matter of you Trish."

Trish arched an eyebrow "What do you mean? I'm of more use to you out there than in a cell."

There was silence yet again. Yamamoto simply stared at Trish, analyzing every part of her. This unnerved the blonde beauty.

Trish then sighed as she started to speak "Listen" She pointed then at Dante "The only reason this entire thing happened is because he forgot to give me his number. If I get that, then this will never happen again."

Yamamoto didn't reply. He kept staring, unnerving Trish even more. More time passed and Yamamoto was showing serious thought.

Then his eyes closed again and he turned to Dante "You are to give her your number. She is now under your supervision."

Dante then groaned "So if she pulls a stunt like this again then it's my ass. Great."

Tish gave a chuckle "Don't worry. I'll behave."

"Then" All turned to Yamamoto as he finished "This meeting is now adjourned"

* * *

"So you're sure you have it?"

Both Dante and Trish were back in the world of the living. They stood on a roof of a large building as the Senkaimon was to their backs.

Trish groaned "Yes Dante I made sure it's saved into my phone."

Dante sighed "Well excuse me for wanting to make sure a stunt like that will never happen again."

This caused Trish to chuckle "Don't worry. That was a onetime performance." Her features then softened "Say, are you ok over there?"

Dante arched an eyebrow at that "You trying to baby me again?"

"Dante"

Dante shook his head "I'm doing fine over there. I can take care of myself."

Trish sighed "Sometimes I wonder" Then she walked to the edge and turned back to Dante giving a one handed salute "See you later"

With that she then stepped off the ledge and fell to the street.

Dante shook his head and mumbled "Rotten luck with woman" Before turning around and walking right into the Senkaimon.

* * *

 **AN: Remember how I said that these chapters are getting longer? Well this one clocks in at 15,000 words (36 pages). This is the length of three of the shorter chapters combined.**

 **Anyways you don't know how much of a nightmare it was to write this chapter, as the damn thing took ages to write. In many ways I'm not satisfied with it (I'm not a fan of the fight scene and I think I made Trish a little to OP) but this took a lot of work and I don't think that I would be satisfied with a rewrite.**

 **I'll probably be focusing on this story more than Blackwatch considering that this is the story people care about more. Also if you didn't notice already, this story is going to take a different direction than the manga, while Blackwatch (whenever I get to it) will follow the manga's direction.**

 **Also I've had more Ideas for a Devil May Cry X Bleach crossover. I'll never write them as I am working on this. But I've considered writing the premises down in the Authors notes for anybody to take and write.**

 **Till next time.**


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